An online platform to create an opportunity for stakeholders in the educational sector to deliberate on challenges and developments in the sector has been launched.
With the ultimate objective to help find solutions to improve the quality of education in the country, it further aims to disrupt the current circle of news dominated by partisan politics.
The platform dubbed, Education 101-Africa project would engage stakeholders including students, the youth, education advocates and the public to take keen interest and contribute to education policy and agenda in the country.
The Executive Director and Consultant of Education 101-Africa, Dr Josephine Odjidja, at the press launch of the project in Accra recently explained that the objectives would be achieved through a dedicated, “multiserver platform” in the mass media to provide educational policies to address issues.
Again, the project, she added, sought to connect academia to industry with the view of breaking the circle of unemployment by providing the youth with the right skills needed by the economy.
“How can this be achieved? Ghana has the highest mobile penetration in West Africa. According to a research in 2019 carried out by GSMA Intelligence, Ghana’s mobile penetration stood at 55 per cent, which is higher than the original average of 44.8 per cent,” she posited
“With this position, education 101-Africa would leverage on the opportunities offered by the various social media platforms to reach its targeted audience,” Dr Odjidja said.
The press launch was performed on the theme: “Leveraging Mass Media as a Strategic Partner in Advancing Education in the new-normal”.
The Technical Advisor for Pre-Tertiary Education of the Ministry of Education, Sheila Naa Boamah, launched the project together with other speakers.
Project concept
The Production Manager for Education 101-Africa, Kwasi Owusu-Afrifa, said the project had two methods that were crucial to its production and achieving its goal.
These methods included research, observation and informing to find solutions to outcomes.
Mr Owusu-Afrifa said the project would bring on board professionals and others in the diaspora, who were well vested in education, curriculum development and research who together would find out the challenges in education and subsequently find solutions to address those issues.
He added that the method also included looking at early child development programmes, mother tongue instruction programmes, technical skills, educational technology and STEM initiatives and private partnership programmes as well as productions such as educational talks.
“Our mode, having our productions done, is quite different from others where you have camera, light, action and then it’s done. Ours is based on scientific research, so before anyone comes on our programme, they have scientifically researched and we know exactly what the person is coming to deliver on the production,” Mr Owusu-Afrifa said.
New-normal
The Executive Director for the Institute of Media Practice, John Osei Agyeman, commended Bensyl Advertising Ghana Ltd, owners of the platform, for the initiative and insisted that what had become known as the “new-normal” was realised years ago even before the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I get worried when people are now looking at two years ago as the new-normal and wanting to begin the processes of engaging or leveraging on the media for change,” he said
“We are so many years behind and, therefore, we cannot afford to begin post-COVID-19. Rather, we should look at what we have done in the past and see how we can improve,” Mr Agyeman stated.