EXTRA CLASSES ...AND OTHERS SUGGEST REVIEW (PAGE 11)

SOME parents and teachers in Wa, the Upper West Regional capital, have taken the call by the Minister of Education, Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, to cancel extra classes in schools with a pinch of salt and said the decision to or not to send one’s child for extra classes lay in the hands of the respective parents.
However, some of the parents were in support of the ban in schools but said a total ban on extra classes in their individual homes would be an interference in their private activities.
Speaking in separate interviews with the Daily Graphic in Wa, a parent, Mr Ekow Amegah, said the directive was hasty and would not serve any purpose especially for people in a deprived area like the Upper West Region.
“It is the parent who knows the abilities and weaknesses of his child and therefore, in trying to put in place measures to correct these, it is wrong for the Minister to sit in Accra and give directives without considering the plight of children in deprived areas whose parents are struggling to educate them,“ he complained.
Mr Amegah, therefore, advised the minister to hasten slowly and take a holistic view of the issue while consulting major stakeholders.
This, according to him, was because the education sector was a very sensitive area and must not be toyed with mere political rhetorics.
Another parent, Mr Samuel Dery, supported the ban in schools but not in the homes.
However, he said, the ban could be dangerous for the pupils because some of the teachers could be lackadaisical in their approach to teaching during the regular school hours to the disadvantage of the pupils.
A parent, Madam Augustina Sokuu, corroborated the views of many of the parents who spoke to the Daily Graphic, and said an outright cancellation of extra classes would not work.
She, however, suggested that it should, perhaps, not be made to run on daily basis but twice or thrice a week or even over the weekends.
A teacher at the Charia Catholic Primary “B’’ School, Miss Fausta Nankuri, stated categorically that cancelling extra classes was impossible.
Miss Ellen Boguo, of the St. Cecilia Catholic Primary School in Wa, stressed the need for extra classes to be held for only final-year students or pupils who were preparing for their examinations and not for all students.
Organising extra classes is not bad at all and should not be scraped totally, she noted, and said what the authorities should know was that teachers also got tired sometimes after teaching and so it was not only students who went through the stress but teachers as well.
From Kumasi, Enoch Darfah Frimpong reports that there have been mixed reactions over the Education Minister’s call for the abolition of extra classes.
Whilst some teachers, parents students have kicked against the minister’s decision and rather called for its streamlining and proper regulation others say it is exploitative by teachers and it should be banned.
In separate interviews, many people expressed the view that extra classes were very important for students and called on the Education Ministry not to take decisions in haste, but consult stakeholders extensively before coming out with any policy in that direction.
Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, the Minister of Education, at the weekend announced that his ministry would begin issuing circulars that would make it illegal for both public and private schools to organise extra classes and said there was going to be punitive measures for teachers who refused to comply with the directive.
But, according to Miss Naa Adorkor Abrahams, a teacher at the Holy Trinity Lutheran School at Kwadaso Estate, extra classes should not be banned.
She said they should rather be encouraged under the supervision of school heads in order for them not to become exploitative.
She argued that whilst some students were good and fast at absorbing whatever was taught in class, there were others who were slow and needed extra tuition.
Again, she said, there were some students who felt shy to ask questions or make contributions in class because they were afraid of making mistakes for their friends to laugh at them, adding that such children found it comfortable to ask and contribute when they had special attention during extra classes.
“I personally have a boy in my class who would never talk in class no matter how much I encourage him to, but when you get him one on one, he would talk, ask questions and give answers,” she said.
Ms Adorkor Abrahams also said there were some teachers who were also not good at teaching certain subjects and students found it convenient to consult other teachers for assistance during extra classes to be able to really understand such subjects.
On whether extra classes were exploitative, she said some teachers tended to exploit students by devoting special attention at extra classes and said it was in this light that various school heads would have to come in, to monitor them.
She said at the junior and senior high school levels for instance, it was possible for some teachers not to teach certain topics well, but rather ask the students to meet them during extra classes on such topic areas.
Mr Kwaku Owusu Ansah, a student at the University of Education, Winneba (Kumasi campus), said it was about time politicians consulted stakeholders before coming out with any policy.
He said there was no way students could complete their syllabuses during the normal school time, thereby making extra classes a necessity.
Aside that, he said the academic calendar had been shortened while the syllabuses had been increased hence there was no way extra classes could be done away with.
In his view, Mr Godfred Boateng, a parent and resident of Atasemanso, said the ban on extra classes was a very good idea.
He noted that it was unfair to the poor in the community, as the rich kids got all the help they needed while the poor were left to fend for themselves and asked teachers to stop using extra classes as a means to generate income.
He argued that while some people might be smiling that teachers were being caught up and that wrongs were being corrected they should not forget that the children were the eventual beneficiaries or sufferers.
Miss Rosina Ghansah, also a parent, resident at Bohyen, for her part said she supported the idea of a ban on extra classes, since it was a drain on financial resources for parents.
Mr Kofi Essel, also a parent, said he supported the idea of a ban, since it was a way by which teachers tried to make money from students.
“Teachers have the whole day to teach students and what would one or two hours after school do differently from what they teach in class?”
On her part, Miss Diane Asare, a student, said the move could be detrimental to the academic progress of students.
Mr Jacob Adu, a teacher, said research must be done on the issue to see what it would look like, and then also teacher assessment and different methods of teaching should be introduced to help children understand lessons.
He said for instance that many countries were using diverse teaching methods including audio-visual aids, games and outdoor education whilst in Ghana we were still using extra classes as one means.
Shirley Asiedu-Addo reports from Cape Coast that some parents, teachers and students do not support the cancellation of extra classes.
They noted that extra classes were necessary with the influx of information that are both good and bad for children.
Ms Kwakor Quartey, a Communications Executive, said it would be dangerous for the nation to accept the cancellation of extra classes for children as it greatly helped to keep them learning.
“Most of the time it’s play, play and play, especially during vacation and I believe the extra classes help keep them occupied and its good for academic work also,” she said.
Mr Abeiku Baiden, also a teacher, said there was no way teachers could fully complete syllabus without conducting extra classes for the children.
He noted that the curricula were currently choked and that made the conduction of extra classes crucial for effective academic work.
Ms Gordon, a reporter, said considering the already deteriorating standards of education and the poor performance of students at examinations, even with the conduct of extra classes, a cancellation was sure to negatively affect the performance of students.
Opanyin Yaw, a parent, however, was happy with the cancellation of extra classes and noted that some teachers just abused the situation.
“Some kingdergarten pupils are made to sing rain, rain go away and are charged heavily because they are attending extra classes, how?, he queried.