pretertiary education and self-employable skills in ghana

Pretertiary Education and Self-Employable Skills in Ghana : The Perspective of Teachers,

Educational Researchers and Educational Administrators

M. Sabbi1, J.D. Boateng2 and J.S. Amankwah3

Abstract

This study examined the self-employable skill development component of the MDG educational objectives in Ghana in the light of ever rising armies of unemployable youth who graduate from the educational system every year. Situating the study in the Northern and Central Regions of Ghana, the views of 322 informants comprising pretertiary teachers, educational researchers, and directors and assistant directors of education were surveyed. The findings showed that the MDG educational objectives promote enrolment without a commensurate incorporation of quality and or self-employable skill teaching and learning. Also, the inadequacy of logistics, support and personnel inhibit the acquisition of requisite skills needed by pretertiary graduates to go into self-employment. This situation calls for improvement in the skills taught and learnt that is crucial in addressing the unemployment problem among the pretertiary graduates in Ghana. It is suggested that future curriculum improvements should prioritize informal sector activities while providing logistics and support for improved skill outcomes.

1- Department of Sociology & Anthropology, University of Cape Coast, GhanaE-mail: [email protected] Institute for Development Studies, University of Cape Coast, GhanaE-mail: [email protected] Institute for Development Studies, University of Cape Coast, GhanaE-mail: [email protected]

M. Sabbi, J.D. Boateng and J.S. Amankwah, Pretertiary education and self-employable skills in Ghana : the perspective of teachers, educational researchers and educational administrators, Afr educ dev issues 2014;6:51-76. - ISSN 2079-651X

© ROCARE/EDUCI Afr educ dev issues 2014;6. Issn 2079-651X

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INTRODuCTIONThe problems of education especially at the pretertiary level

in Ghana, like many African countries, are widely known ranging from the lack of qualified personnel, poor and or inadequate infrastructure, inappropriate school curriculum for skills development to poor personnel motivation. These consequences negatively affect the quality of learning outcomes and, thus job prospects of students after their training. This militates against the crucial role played by education in the provision of the wealth of knowledge for solving novel problems, personal mobility and leadership positions (Agyeman, 1986 and Forojalla, 1993).

In view of the above problems and the fact that there is rising unemployment among graduates of all levels across Africa, it has been suggested that education should be reformed to be able to equip pretertiary graduates with self-employable skills to enable them impact positively on the economy (Addae-Mensah, 2000). One reason that accounts for the mismatch between education and national development is that educational policies and strategies disregard the context in which such education is provided. Indeed, these policies and strategies are designed to offer skills relevant to formal sector employment, but the formal sector of the economy is woefully inadequate to accommodate the teeming unemployed graduates of all levels in Ghana. What is required is the type of education which provides skills necessary for graduates to make use of their acquired human capital resources in their own countries (Busia, 1968).

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on education have informed educational policies in Africa for about a decade and are supposed to address these contradictions in education. This study therefore examines how far the MDG educational objectives are addressed by the pretertiary schools to make important contribution to national development.

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Problem and ContextGhana’s educational system produces graduates with requisite

skills needed for formal sector jobs but this formal sector is woefully inadequate to employ the growing masses of pretertiary graduates. The population of Ghana is estimated to be around 22 million with an annual growth rate of about 2.5%. The youth population (i.e. 10-24yrs) is estimated to be 7,500,000 (Population Reference Bureau, 2006) with over 20% of them being unemployed (Ghana Statistical Service, 2005). Yet over the years, the number of graduates produced in various institutions continues to rise. The MDGs on education seek to provide education for all by the year 2015. Thus, many people may pass through the education system with skills that are only useful for formal sector of the economy yet this sector is growing at a snail pace and thus unable to absorb the graduates. Besides, many of the graduates have little or no knowledge in the application of such skills to non-formal economic sector activities.

Although Ghana has made attempts to reform its educational system, the problem of inability of graduates to use their acquired skills to effect development has persisted. This is largely due to the fact that these reforms have paid little attention to the informal sector. Yet the Ghanaian economy, like the economies of other African countries, depends largely on the informal sector. The end result is mass unemployment, underemployment and poverty in the country. For over a decade, Ghana has embraced the educational objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which seek to promote the achievement of universal primary education and the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women by 2015. For one thing, the MDG principles give the impression that the more graduates are turned out by the educational system, the better it would be for industrial productivity without taking cognizance of the dearth of industries in Ghana. Two Key questions worthy of investigation for the present purpose are :


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a) Are educational workers fully aware of the MDG educational objectives ?

b) Do the objectives promote the teaching of self-employable skills ?

The objective of this study therefore is to explore the extent to which pretertiary education in Ghana under the MDG educational objectives enhance or inhibit the acquisition of self-employment skills by learners.

Theoretical FrameworkThe study is underpinned by the human capital theory which

suggests the instrumentality of education in economic development through the provision of skills and technologies designed to improve competencies. From the human capital perspective, education is seen as the acquisition of assets or resources available to groups and individuals, that is to say, knowledge and abilities people receive through formal and informal education, training and experiences. For Cornell and Hartmann (1998), individuals with high human capital have particularly valuable skills or knowledge which is fungible and once acquired, enables its possessor to translate it into better job, higher income, more authority and or more satisfying set of activities. What the human capital theory brings to the foreground is the link between education and economic development; when economic development is defined as the improvement in the lives of people and manifested by positive changes in the levels and distribution of employment that translates further into per capita income. What one observes in the case of Ghana, just like other African countries, is that schools often do not teach self-employable skills; rather they encourage conformity and an unthinking acceptance of the need for qualification rather than the application of useful knowledge (Dore, 1976). To bridge this gap, Nyerere’s (1968) “education for self-reliance”, a blend of school and work programmes is appropriate. This, for Busia (1968),

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would help learners acquire skills to support the manpower needs of both industry and agriculture.

The Challenge of Quality EducationThere is an ever rising rate of unemployment among graduates

of all levels in Africa. Research evidence from Togo and Benin, for example, has shown that teaching and learning in schools are oriented towards objectives which are often different from the context in which they are provided and thus have little connection with local community occupations and concerns (Maclure, 1997). This is mainly due to the fact that the educational system does not equip learners with requisite self-employable skills. Yet as has been observed in Ghana in recent times, many students leave school with the aim of working in the formal sector of the economy. With job openings in this sector being very limited, these graduates find it difficult to turn to alternative employment in the informal sector because they lack the requisite skills to do so.

Recent efforts to ameliorate poor skills development have increasingly suggested self-reliance education which involves practical and hands-on application of what is learnt; and education becomes useful when students learn the basic principle of modern knowledge in agriculture, and adapt them to solve their own problems (Nyerere, 1968). This type of quality education in Ghana has not been realized since the educational system is confronted with problems such as inadequate teaching and learning materials, personnel, and infrastructure. Although Ghana’s quest for quality education has informed a number of educational reforms and reviews starting from Dr. Nkrumah’s government to date, the country is yet to exploit the full benefits of these reforms and reviews. The key observation from these reviews and reforms is that they have failed to equip pre-tertiary students with the basic skills since little emphasis is given to technical and vocational education (GoG, 2000). This situation has exacerbated the


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unemployment situation in the country since graduates from the pre-tertiary and tertiary levels can neither find work nor go into self-employment.

The Nature of Technical and Vocational Education Training in GhanaTechnical and vocational education training (TVET) was introduced

in Ghana’s educational policy i.e. the free compulsory universal basic education (FCUBE) as part of measures to correct the problems students in the old school system faced if they dropped out of school. Unfortunately, the TVET subsector is in a deplorable state because the emphasis has been on grammar education in the Senior and Junior High School s . It has been observed that of the technical institutions in Ghana, only six (6) are adequately equipped to function well due to problems of neglect and funding (GoG, 2002). The numerous setbacks suffered by the TVET programme include the absence of experimental laboratory, workshops, tools, teaching and learning materials, and personnel or experts to facilitate learning of requisite skills. Furthermore, Kadingdi (2005) has observed that most parents and pupils have negative attitudes towards technical and vocational courses. These problems have partly accounted for the unpopularity of the TVET programme.

The millennium Development Goals and Pretertiary Education in GhanaTo address the rising problems of education and rising

unemployment rates among pretertiary graduates, Ghana has subscribed to the millennium development goals (MDGs). Ghana’s commitment to meeting these objectives is captured in the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS). On the one hand, the GPRS uses the capitation grant to ease the constraints posed by the demand-side to education and the other to provide texts, infrastructural facilities, and trained teachers to meet the supply-

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side of education (Osei, Owusu, Asem, Afutu-Kotey, 2009). The capitation grant is a scheme for meeting the MDGs on education whereby the government through the Education Strategy Plan (2003-2015) absorbs all fees charged by schools and also provide schools with a small grant for each pupil enrolled. In this scheme, every public kindergarten, primary and junior high school receives a grant of about $3.30 per pupil. Already, the scheme has chalked some successes in terms of enrolment. UNICEF has observed that primary school enrolment increased from 62% to 69% in 2007, and there have been tremendous rises in all the regions. Additionally girls’ enrolment has been high going slightly beyond that of boys (as cited in Osei, et al. 2009).

In conjunction with the capitation grant, the school feeding programme offers poor children an opportunity to attend school while increasing their nutritional status; it also increases enrolment and retention. Though the capitation grant and the school feeding programme in the early periods of implementation have chalked some gains, their impact on the quality of education is not well defined because any increase in enrolment resulting from these education subsidies puts added pressure on existing school facilities with adverse implications for the quality of education provided (Osei, et al. 2009).

Again, challenges such as inadequate infrastructural facilities to accommodate the rising numbers of pupils, inadequate texts and instructional materials, delays in release of funds, etc. have emerged (Osei, et al. 2009). The school feeding programme, on its part, targets children in primary schools (aged between 6-12) as well as those at the preschool level who are entitled to a hot lunch a day. Girls who are able to make monthly attendance of 85% or more are given a take home ration, especially in the north of Ghana (CRS, 2003). The programme is being pilot tested in selected schools in each district in the country. More importantly, the promise of demand-driven skills development and


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entrepreneurial training in the GPRS paper, and the establishment of production units in all vocational training centres are yet to take on any significant meaning (NDPC, 2006). Consequently, a large number of primary, junior and senior high school graduates keep trooping out with poor skills and employable capacities. These and other findings militate against the prospects in the MDGs on education for the elimination of poverty through skill development.

RESEARCH PROCEDuREThe study employed the cross-sectional survey design

which involved surveying the opinions of teachers, educational researchers and policy makers from the Central and Northern regions in Ghana. While the Central Region boasts of superior educational infrastructure and logistics, these facilities are wanting in the Northern Region. This suggested a comparison of the opinions on the MDG principles on education.

Population and Sampling TechniquesThe target population for this study was made up of three

categories of informants namely teachers in pretertiary schools (primary, junior high schools and senior high schools) as one category ; policy-makers (i.e. directors and assistant directors of education) as another category; and lecturers and educational researchers as a third category. The lecturers and educational researchers were selected from the University of Cape Coast and University of Education, Winneba, which offer training and research in education. The study employed proportional, purposive and random sampling procedures. Data from the Ministry of Education estimates that there are 6,418 public Junior High Schools (JHS) and 474 public Senior High Schools (SHS) in the country. In the two study regions, the figures are 48 listed SHS for the Central region and 11 listed SHS for the Northern region. This was used because normally towns with SHS have both JHS and primary schools as well which were of interest to the study.

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In each study region, the capital city and two other towns that met the school-category criteria were selected. Two hundred (200) teachers in pretertiary schools in the two regions were targeted. In each region, two schools from each category in the capital city plus one school in each category in the other two districts were selected for the survey. Ten teachers were chosen from each selected SHS, 10 from each selected JHS and 5 from each selected primary school. The breakdown is as follows: For the Central Region, Cape Coast (50); Apam (25); and Saltpond (25). In the Northern Region, Tamale (50); Nalerigu (25); and Savelugu (25). In addition, 200 educational researchers and lecturers at the University of Cape Coast (100) and University of Education, Winneba (100) and 80 directors of education (40 in each region) were targeted. This brings the targeted sample to 480.

Unfortunately, at the end of data collection 329 questionnaires were retrieved from the respondents and upon careful examination of the instruments, seven (7) questionnaires were discarded due to inconsistencies and/ or incomplete responses. The final response rate therefore came to 322 (67.1%) out of the expected 480. Specifically, the response rate for the lecturers and or educational researchers was 81 (40.5%); Teachers, 183 (91.5%), and directors of education, 58 (72.5%).

InstrumentationThe instrument for data collection was a questionnaire designed

by the researchers and subjected to expert review by the project mentor. The choice of the questionnaire was informed by the fact that the sample is a literate group and thus could respond to the items independently of the researchers’ involvement and biases. The questionnaire was structured into five (5) sections. The first section sought information on the socio-demographic profile of respondents; the second section measured awareness of the MDG educational objectives and its effect on learning outcomes;


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the third section measured the adequacy or inadequacy of the MDG educational objectives for self-reliance; the fourth section assessed problems faced by the educational system in meeting the self-reliant needs of pretertiary graduates; and the fifth section evaluated the challenges that prevent education from contributing to national development.

Data Collection ProcedureThe instrument was administered by the researchers in the two

regions with the help of three trained data collection assistants. For the teachers, permission was sought from their respective heads of schools before the informants were reached mostly from their staff common rooms. Teachers were entreated to give unbiased responses to the question items. They were assured of confidentiality with the explanation that the study was purely for educational policy and capacity building. The lecturers and educational researchers were mainly reached through their heads of department. The policy-makers, especially the directors of education, were visited at their administrative offices while assistant directors were visited in their respective schools.

RESuLTSSocio-Demographic Profile of Respondents Out of the total of 322 respondents, there were 223 (69.3%) males

and 99 (30.7%) females. Regional distribution of the sample by sex was skewed in favour of the Central Region. Thus, 160 (71.7%) of the males reside in the Central Region while 63 (28.3%) are in the Northern Region and 59 (59.6%) of the females reside in the Central Region while 40 (40.4%) come from the Northern Region.

The minimum age for inclusion in the sample was 25 years because respondents should have worked for at least 2 years after graduation. The sample was youthful and active (M=37years;

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SD=1.44). Comparing this with the mean ages of the sub samples for the two regions, we observe that the respondents from the Central Region are slightly younger (M=37.6; SD=1.75) than respondents from the Northern Region (M=37.8; SD=2.57).

The educational achievement of respondents is high. Indeed, more than half (50.6%) of them have had tertiary education while 27.7% hold post graduate qualification. Just a handful of the respondents (0.9%) possess only secondary education. The high educational qualification of the sample is not surprising because over a quarter of the respondents are educational researchers and lecturers from the two universities in the central region. Within group analysis for the males shows that the Northern Region has proportionately more tertiary graduates (66.7%) than the Central Region (46.3%). Similarly, within group analysis for the females shows that the Northern Region has more female respondents with tertiary education (55.0%) and post-secondary education (45.0%) than the Central Region (42.0%) and (24.0%) respectively. On the whole, 58 (18.0%) are engaged in educational administration, 183 (56.8%) teach at the pre tertiary level while 81 (25.2%) are lecturers and/researchers at the tertiary level. It is observed that the informants’ occupational life and status in their organizations imply that they should be well informed about the current educational policies and how these affect the quality of education. The sample represents an experienced group of educational policy-makers and administrators, implementers and researchers. Indeed 51.9% (n=167) have been involved in their occupations for more than 6 years with some going beyond 21 years of work in their chosen careers.

Knowledge of mDG Educational ObjectivesContrary to expectations that respondents will be aware of

the educational strategy in use, the data from the study show that 181 (56.2%) said that they were aware or had knowledge of the MDG principles on education and 141 (43.8%) said they


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do not have any awareness or knowledge of the principles. The degree of awareness and knowledge of the MDG principles vary with the three different categories of respondents, namely teachers/implementers, policy-makers, and lecturers/researchers. Teachers/implementers are the least informed of the MDG objectives on education (about 51%). Knowledge among policy makers was generally high. The majority, over 60% (n=35) were aware and knowledgeable of the MDG educational objectives. The educational researchers’ category has the highest level of awareness of the MDG principles. About two-thirds of them were informed about the MDG objectives on education.

A breakdown of the data by region shows that 141 (64.4%) of the respondents from the Central Region were informed about the MDG principles on education. In contrast, only 40 (38.8%) of the respondents from the Northern Region were aware of the MDG principles. This observation from the two regions suggests the possibility of problems of information dissemination. Educational policy information is usually not well disseminated especially, in regions that are farther away from the capital city where these policies are formulated.Table 1 : Knowledge of MDG Educational Principles by Region of Residence (Work)

Region of Work

Knowledge of MDG Educ. Principles Central (%) Northern (%) Total (%)

Yes 141 (64.4) 40 (38.8) 181 (56.2)

No 78 (36.5) 63 (61.2) 141 (43.8)

Total 19 (100) 103 (100) 322 (100)

Source : Survey data, September, 2009. ( 2=17.55 ; df=1; p<0.05 ; n=322)

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There was a significant difference between region of residence and respondents level of awareness of the MDG educational objectives ( 2 =17.55; p<0.05). Generally, respondents who are aware of the MDG objectives on education in Ghana believed that the principles have influenced school enrolment positively. Out of the 181 respondents who knew about the MDG principles, the majority (80%) held the view that the MDG objectives on education promote access to universal primary education and also close the gender disparity in enrolment. However, they thought that the MDG principles do not necessarily promote quality. This finding is given more support when the 181 informants were further asked to assess how different the MDGs on education are from the previous policy. Indeed 43 (23.8%) suggested that the principles seek to incorporate gender parity in the previous educational policy i.e. the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) policy, 64 (35.4%) said the previous policy was poorly planned and executed while 54 (29.8%) suggested that it is not so different from the FCUBE policy because it is equally quantitatively-inclined. Only 20 (11.0%) suggested that the MDG principles on education are skill-oriented.

Influence of MDG Educational Objectives on Enrolment All the 181 respondents who were aware of the MDG

educational objectives agreed strongly that the objectives influence (educational) enrolment trends in Ghana and more importantly seek to increase enrolment of students in pretertiary schools. Indeed, 178 (98.3%) believed that the MDG educational principles increase enrolment; only three respondents held the view that they decrease enrolment among pretertiary students. 89.5% of the 181 respondents believed that the MDG principles’ influence on enrolment is in favour of females. Only 10.5% held the view that the principles seek to influence school enrolment in favour


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of males. As pointed out in the literature, the MDGs seek to close the gender gap in education. It is therefore a healthy sign that the majority of the respondents confirm this objective. While the previous educational policy was intended to give equal access to education for both sexes, it was in practice biased towards males because no effort was made to ensure that girls had equal access to education. The education for food ration programme, an aspect of the school feeding programme in some districts, seeks to increase access and retention of females who have traditionally been kept out of the school system. The CRS (2003) reports that the programme has increased the enrolment of girls up to 74,389 in 593 Take Home Ration (THR) schools. In these schools, 63,260 girls achieved 85% attendance rate thereby qualifying for THR.

The MDG principles on education promise both increases in quantity (access) and quality (skill development) among pretertiary students so that they may be able to use the learned skills to make an impact in their own context. In line with this premise, the 181 respondents who know about the MDG principles on education were asked whether the objectives consider both quality and quantity issues. Of this number, 163 (90.1%) said they agreed that the principles consider both quantity and quality; only 18 (9.9%) held the view that the principles do not consider the issues of quality and quantity. On the whole, the 163 informants further agreed that the objectives of the MDG principles are good for skills development among pretertiary graduates. Using a 5-point Likert-type scale (1=not at all good; 2=not good; 3=somewhat good; 4=good; and 5=very good), it was observed that 39.3% said that it is “very good” for skills development; 50.3% argued that it is “good” for skill development; 6.1% suggested that the objectives are “somewhat good” while 4.3% suggested that they are “not good” for skill development (M=4.245, SD=0.754, n=163).

Those informants (18) who argued that the principles do not consider both quality and quantity and are thus not good for skill

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development mentioned some shortcomings of the education principles. 55.5% mentioned inadequate logistics for addressing both quality and quantity issues associated with the MDG principles on education; 44.4% believed that the principles are quantity-oriented and thus pay little attention to the issue of quality of skills acquired by learners.

Gender-Bias by the mDG educational ObjectivesIn view of the higher agreement among the 181 respondents that

the MDG educational objectives promote enrolment, respondents were asked which of the genders are favoured in enrolment. Again, the majority (89.5%) of the 181 informants who are informed about the MDG principles argued that the principles favour females more than males. Table 2 presents respondents’ views according to their region of work. This observation is consistent with the policy’s objective to close the gender gap between male and female enrolment in all levels of education. In both regions, there was general agreement that the principles favour females more than males.Table 2 : Informants’ Perception of Gender-Bias by the MDG Educational Principles by Region

Region of Work

Gender Favoured Central (%) Northern (%) Total (%)

Male 11 (7.8) 8 (20.0) 19 (10.5)

Female 130 (92.2) 32 (80.0) 162 (89.5) Total 141 (100) 40 (100) 181 (100)

Source : Survey data, September, 2009. ( 2=3.722 ; df=1 ; p<0.54 ; n=181)


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Yet when asked whether they were aware of any courses designed under the MDGs on education for self-reliance, only 40.1% of the 322 informants said they were aware of any such courses designed for that purpose; 59.9% said they were unaware of such courses.

Differences in informants’ knowledge about the MDG educational objectives were observed in the regions. The chi square test of independence was computed in Table 3 for respondents’ knowledge of the courses designed under the MDGs educational objectives for the two regions. There was a significant difference between region of residence and respondents’ knowledge of the courses designed under MDGs 2=11.26; p<0.05). Informants who do not know about the courses designed under the MDG principles were asked to suggest courses that are relevant for achieving self-reliance. Out of the 193 respondents, 59.6% suggested prevocational/technical skills, 34.7% proposed apprenticeship while 5.7% suggested agricultural skills and practical training.

Table 3 : Informants’ Knowledge of Courses under MDG Educational Prin-ciples by Region

Region of Work

Knowledge of MDG Courses Central (%) Northern

(%) Total (%)

Yes 102 (46.6) 27 (26.2) 129 (40.1)

No 117 (53.4) 76 (73.8) 193 (59.9)

Total 19 (100) 103 (100) 322 (100)

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Source : Survey data, September, 2009. ( 2=11.262; df=1; p<0.05; n=322)

Educational Policy that Favours Self-RelianceRegarding the usefulness of the MDG educational principle in

supporting self-reliance, the majority, (58.6% of the 322 informants) held the view that the MDG principles on education support self-reliance while 133 (41.3%) thought that they do not necessarily support education for self-reliance. In reacting to education and skill acquisition for self-reliance development, 210 (65.2%) said that the educational policy before the introduction of the MDG principles did not ensure self-reliance; 112 (34.8%) argued that the previous policy sought to ensure self-reliance. When asked to give reasons for the above assertion, 50 (23.8%) out of the 210 informants who suggested that the previous education policy did not ensure self-reliance, stated that the previous policy was not holistic while 160 (76.2%) argued that the FCUBE curriculum was inappropriate for skill acquisition. All the informants (112) who argued that the previous policy ensured self-reliance gave as their reason for their response that the FCUBE policy was equally skill-oriented.

From Table 4, it is observed that informants believed that the current educational policy informed by the MDG educational principles supports self-reliance than the former educational policy (FCUBE). There was significant difference between the two policies ( 2=7.022; p<0.05) with informants perceiving the MDG educational objectives as supporting self-reliance development more than the FCUBE. The impression that the above response gives is that majority of the respondents support the view that the MDG principles are oriented to skill-acquisition for self-reliance development.


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Table 4 : Informants’ Opinion on Educational Policy that Favours Self-Re-liance

Current Edu. Policy (MDG) & Self-Reliance

Previous Edu. Policy & Self-Reliance

Yes (%) No (%) Total (%)

Yes 78 (41.3) 111 (58.7) 189 (100)

No 35 (26.3) 98 (73.7) 133 (100)

Total 113 (35.1) 209 (64.9) 322 (100)

Source : Survey data, September, 2009. ( 2=7.022 ; df=1; p<0.05 ; n=322)

mDG Educational Objectives and Priority Areas of Skill-TrainingAlthough female respondents strongly believed that the

MDG educational objectives support female enrolment, some of them (46.0%) did not think that the MDG educational objectives support self-reliance. It was observed that 61% of the male and 54% of the female respondents agree that the MDG educational objectives support self-reliance. Throwing more light on the priority areas of focus in using the MDG principles on education for skill development for self-reliance, out of the 189 informants who said that the MDG principles support self-reliance, 73.5% gave vocational and technical training as the priority areas, 24.3% held the view that ICT training are given priority while 2.1% each held the view that agricultural skills and practical training as well as apprenticeship training are areas of focus in the MDG principles on education.

For the 133 informants who argued that the MDG educational principles do not support self-reliance, the majority (78.2%) suggested inadequate logistics and support from the education

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ministry and government, especially the inadequacy of training materials as a fundamental problem for using the principles for self-reliance, while 21.8% argued that the public has poor attitude to vocational and technical subjects and this makes the use of the principles for self-reliance in Ghana problematic. These observations reveal that while the MDG principles may be useful for achieving the self-reliance needs of Ghana, as suggested by some informants (189), certain challenges constrain the principles in achieving the skill development needs of students. It is probably because of this reason that more than 40% of the respondents believed that the MDG principles and programmes based on it are less likely to give education for self-reliance.

When respondents who were aware and knowledgeable about the MDG principles (181) were asked to assess the extent to which the principles are useful for appropriate skill development on a 5-point Likert-type scale (1=not at all good; 2=not good; 3=somewhat good ; 4=good; 5=very good), only 163 informants responded. It was observed that the informants generally believe that the MDG principles are good for skills development (M=4.25; SD=0.75; n=163).

An independent-sample t-test as depicted in Table 5 found no statistical difference in the mean scores for respondents from the Central and Northern Regions with regard to their opinions on the extent to which the MDG educational objectives lead to the acquisition of self-employable skills. The magnitude of the difference in means was very small (eta=-0.007). Thus there is no difference in the views of the two groups of respondents regarding the use of MDG educational objectives for skills development.


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Table 5 : Usefulness of MDG Educational Objectives for Skills Acquisition by Region

Region N Mean SD t p-value

Central 127 1.72 .7 8

Northern 36 1.86 .64 1.074 .286

Source : Survey data, September, 2009.In view of the diverse opinions expressed about the usefulness

of the MDG educational objectives and the FCUBE programme for skills acquisition, respondents were asked to recommend strategies that will promote skills acquisition and 241 of the entire sample (322) responded to this question. Of the 241 respondents, 14.9% recommended apprenticeship with industry, 76.8% recommended adequate technical and vocational training before completion of school, and 8.3% recommended training of more personnel to teach technical and vocational skills.

Self-Employable Skills for the Informal SectorFor the 100 informants who said that the informal sector is or

should be considered when policies are being formulated, 22.0% listed sewing; 17.0% said catering; 22.0% listed carpentry, and 39.0% gave agricultural skills as the informal sector activities that have been given priority in the educational policies. They also believed that some logistics and support have been provided for using these informal sector activities to meet the self-reliant needs of Ghana. Indeed, 25.0% suggested infrastructural support, 23.0% believed that teaching and support for personnel have been provided while 52.0% argued that teaching and learning materials have been provided to meet the skill needs of pretertiary graduates. Using a 5-point Likert-type scale (1=never at all to 5=very often), it was observed that informants believed that policy formulators rarely see to the implementation of the informal sector

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activities set out in the educational policies (M=2.9, SD=1.05). This observation points to the fact that even if informal sector activities are considered, the programmes are often not successful because of implementation constraints which require crucial attention. Information on the status of respondents and their perception of informal sector activities considered in the school curriculum is presented in Table 6. Table 6 : Consideration of Informal Sector Activities by Status of Res-pondents

Consideration of Informal Sector Activities

Status Yes (%) No (%) Total (%)

Directors 30 (51.7) 28 (48.2) 58 (100)

Lecturers/Researchers 31 (38.3) 50 (61.7) 81 (100)

Teachers 39 (21.3) 144 (78.6) 183 (100)

Total 100 (31.1) 222 (68.9) 322 (100)

Source : Survey data, September, 2009. ( 2=21.657; df=2; p<0.05)

A breakdown of the information on the informal sector activities considered by the directors, teachers and researchers as presented in Table 6 shows that it is the majority of the directors (policy-makers) (52%) who argue that informal sector activities are often considered. A large majority of the teachers do not believe that informal sector activities are considered in the school curriculum. Researchers with 38% lie in between the two extremes. The chi-square test of independence was computed and a significant difference was observed between status of informants and their perception with regard to the consideration of informal sector activities in the formulation of policies.


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One of the arguments of the 222 respondents who said that informal sector activities are not considered in the formulation of educational policies is that there is poor attitude on the part of both parents and students towards informal sector activities (25.7%). This partly corroborates the observation made by Kadindgi (2005) about the fact that most parents do not want their wards to pursue technical and vocational courses. Therefore a policy that seeks to equip pretertiary graduates with skills should also seek to educate or explain to the students and their parents the relevance of such programmes. This is especially crucial because when the 264 educational researchers and teachers were asked about students’ perception of jobs while they are still in school, the responses showed that generally students do not have positive attitude towards informal sector jobs. Indeed, the majority, (66.7%) of this group of respondents suggested that students always consider working in the formal sector. In contrast, only 1.9% said that students want to work at the informal sector. Interestingly, 24.2% said students would not mind working in the two sectors of the economy. 7.2% of the respondents did not give any opinion about which sector students want to work. This finding is consistent with Foster’s (1965) observation that most students are influenced by the industrial demands before making choices about programmes of study and that the informal sector is less attractive to students. This situation requires serious attention of policy makers if prevocational and technical education is to make any meaningful impact in Ghana.

DISCuSSIONThe data from the study showed that 181 (over 56. %) were

aware or had knowledge of the MDG principles on education distributed as teachers (about 51%), policy makers (about 60%) and educational researchers (over 65%). This observation notwithstanding, a substantial number of teachers (about 44%) is unaware of the MDG educational objectives. The impression

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one gets from this observation is inadequate information dissemination and training programmes upon the integration of the MDG educational objectives into the preschool curriculum. It presupposes that not much may have changed regarding the teaching and learning of self-employable skills. Secondly, the MDG educational objectives were found to be useful for promoting enrolment at the pretertiary level in Ghana. The findings generally revealed shared patterns in opinions of teachers, educational administrators and educational researchers that the MDG educational objectives are positively increasing enrolment for pupils especially at the pretertiary level. This is crucial because it confirms the MDG principles commitment to addressing the gender gap in enrolment.

In addition, one key finding worthy of note is that teachers, educational administrators and educational researchers believe that there is a missing link between educational enrolment and skill acquisition. Indeed, the respondents thought that learners pass through the educational system with no requisite skills. In contrast to the MDG promise of skill acquisition, the respondents believed that policy makers seldom address this aspect when it comes to discussing skill needs of pretertiary learners. Furthermore, courses taught at the pretertiary level were said not to be specifically relevant for local needs. This situation points to the issue of lower investment in TVET in Ghana (GoG, 2002). The situation is compounded by inadequate teaching and learning materials (TLM) for teaching self-employable skills. Last but not least, the findings revealed that personnel training and motivation remains a hurdle for pretertiary education. The respondents thought that this situation constrains efforts to teach self-employable skills to learners.


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CONCLuSIONSince a substantial number of teachers (about 48%) is unaware

of the MDG educational objectives, there is a higher tendency for teachers to be implementing the old policy in their classrooms. Secondly, the MDG educational objectives are closing the gender gap in enrolment since the objectives, while promoting enrolment for all children of school going age, gives special attention to girls’ enrolment and retention. Third, pretertiary graduates do not acquire the relevant self-employable skills to go into self-employment so they most probably join the competition for unavailable formal sector employment; a situation that worsens the unemployment rates among pretertiary graduates, especially those who are unable to continue their education at the tertiary level. Last but not least, inadequate logistic support for teaching aids, personnel and incentives constrain the MDG educational objectives to impart the relevant skills for self-employment among pretertiary graduates.

Nevertheless, the findings from this study need to be interpreted with caution since this study was conducted in two regions and more studies would be needed for empirical generalizations.

RECOMMENDATIONSBased on the findings, the following recommendations are made :

• Firstly, the findings from the study suggest the need for a continuous dialogue between policy makers and implementers on factors that need to be considered in achieving the promise of self-employable skills in the MDG educational objectives. Without considering the opinions of the teachers who are involved in the realities of classroom teaching might lead to shallow changes filled with disagreements and inconsistencies in teaching self-employable skills to students.

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• Secondly, the successful implementation of the MDG education objectives requires support and logistics in terms of materials and personnel. Therefore teacher motivation, infrastructural support and materials such as workshops, tools and classrooms should be provided by the government and its development partners to ensure its success.

FuTuRE RESEARCHA more robust study would be required in future to evaluate the

types and levels of skills actually taught and learnt in the schools to assess both the quantitative and qualitative impact made by the MDG educational objectives. Again, a study that surveys the opinions of teachers, policy-makers and researchers in all the regions of Ghana will be helpful in dealing with the self-employable skill deficiency among pre-tertiary graduates in Ghana.

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Forojalla, S. B. (1993). Educational planning for development. London: Macmillan press Ltd.

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pretertiary education and self-employable skills in ghana

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