Yesterday, someone asked me a question ” why is that the Teacher Unions didn’t protest against the appointment of NAPO as Minister of Education but are mad about Dr Nkansah? Before I could respond to this question, he added, ‘Dr. Addo Kuffour is a medical officer but led the Security Ministry efficiently:.
I smiled and patiently explained as follows:
The problem is that people are perceiving the GES as a Ministry. While expertise or professionalism isn’t required in appointing people to work at the Ministry level, same isn’t the case at the GES level. Hence, even though Dr. Nkansah’s professional background is Banking, the Unions didn’t protest his appointment at the Ministry level. The GES is however a professional (technocrat) service agency of the Ministry of Education responsible for providing professional technical advisor to the Ministry and professionally implementing policies of the Ministry. The Director-General (DG) of the GES is the Chief technical advisor to the Minister of Education and the Chief professional guide for Directors of education. Hence , any prospective DG must have been trained in education and exposed to basic knowledge and skills in philosophical and sociological foundations of education, principles of educational administration, principles and practice of pedagogy etc.
Teaching is what has brought me this far, so I am very concerned when there are attempts to affront teacher professionalism. I find the thinking that as for education anything goes very insulting and unacceptable. In 2011,I had to lead a professional revolt against an attempt by the MOE to move headteacher preparation programmes from IEPA UCC to GIMPA. My motivation was simple,what headteachers need to practice is educational administration Not public administration.
It is sad that gradually professional-indexed leadership positions in the GES. Will a teacher, without the requisite professional qualification, be allowed to head a department of pharmacy within the Ministry of Health or a department of economics linked to the Ministry of Finance? An image challenge. Teacher Professionalism Must be Protected.
