I was at a quiz programme yesterday. The Young Intellectual Minds Quiz Championship was organized by the Young Foundation Builders Network and the Keta Library. The quizmaster for the final was Richard Kodzo Nani, Mathematics and Physics teacher from Ketasco.
The Championship started with 26 schools and four made it to the final. Abor E.P. JHS, Bambiland Montessori in Tegbi (nearly opposite the Tegbi Clinic at Eli’s Beach Resort and Boutique Hotel Junction), Redemption Home Preparatory School from Anloga Kportorgbey (not far from Pin Drop Hotel) and Keta Ola Girls R.C. Convent.
I taught at Keta Ola Girls Convent from 2009 to 2014 and was hoping they could make history. They got 37 points, Bambiland Montessori chalked 68, Redemption School got 70 while Abor E.P emerged winner with 71 points. I am glad a public school won. But it should have been with a wider margin.
I was Quiz Master for three of the semi-finals and I noticed the private schools performing better than the public schools. Their students were more confident and more assured in answering questions, and they won their contests with better margins. They also perform better at the Basic Education Certificate Examinations compared to the public schools every year.
Do you know why?
It all has to do with intentions. You can’t be successful unless you are INTENTIONAL about it.
The private school headteacher or school owner knows that parents are paying big money and he has to help the kids deliver big results at exams, so he cares. They put in place measures to ensure that the kids start reading at early ages and get teachers who are involved in the students’ education 100%. The kids’ parents also care enough and are very intentional and involved in their kids’ education.
I can’t remember my mom asking to see my grades or checking my progress in school. Too busy to care about that maybe or she knew I was good, and that’s it. But it is not every student that is able to thrive in the absence of parental concern about their education and the right systems and resources for academic development.
Not saying that parents of children in public schools don’t care, but the children with parents who don’t care that much about what their wards are studying in school and how they are faring are many. And these are schools attached to missions. E.P, R.C, Zion, etc. And they don’t seem to care about the educational reputation of their schools and the academic progress of pupils.
How difficult will it be for the church to build a library on campus and get students reading from early ages? They take money from parents, find money to build new church branches, but can’t build well-stocked libraries for their mission schools?
Granted, most of these schools are under Government administration now, but churches still have a role to play. They organize worships on Wednesday for students, still have their names attached to the school, and most of these children end up attending the churches of schools they find themselves in. It’s time local stakeholders wake up. If you want the abysmal performances at the exams to stop, be intentional about it.
Some private schools with SHS leavers as teachers are performing better than public schools with trained teachers. It’s because the public school children did not start reading from a young age, are not reading enough and lack the resources needed for academic development.
I want to see every PTA collaborating with their mission to build libraries! I am sending a letter to all the churches and schools in Southern Volta and giving them a 6-month ultimatum to get this done. Language development is the bedrock of personal development, and every education system hinges on reading.
Get your children reading if you want them to become better students and better citizens.
Let’s do this.
By Stan Dugah
StantheStoryTeller
22/09/2021
