Education has undergone changes over the years

Page 35
March 5, 2008

Formal education has undergone several changes since in the country over the years. The changes, which were adopted to meet the needs and trends of education, have in no small way contributed to its delivery.
The colonial government played a very significant role in the development of education in the Gold Coast. Until this time educational activities had been confined to the castles schools.
The second half of the 19th century saw an expansion in educational activities in the Gold Coast. The year 1850 saw the appointment of a Governor for the Gold Coast, who made education the pre-occupation of the new government. By 1856, the British authorities had managed to open more schools, including one girls’ school at Cape Coast. In the same year, the Colonial Chaplain, Rev C.S. Nassels, was appointed superintendent and Inspector of Schools.
A Board of Education was set up in 1882 to control and supervise the system, and the Principal of Fourah Bay College, Rev M. Sunter, was appointed Inspector of Schools. The government acted promptly after realising the difficulty in inspecting all the schools because he was based in Sierra Leone.
Mr George Macdonald was appointed the first Director of Education for the Gold Coast in 1890. This marked the autonomy and full establishment of the Gold Coast Department of Education. The creation of the Department of Education of the Gold Coast marked the beginning of a more unified system of management of schools and other policies on education in the colony.
With the education sector facing challenges, Sir Gordon Guggisberg, on his appointment as Governor, started to address the problems. Thus, the period between 1919 and 1927 saw remarkable developments in the field of education in the Gold Coast. Guggisberg set up a committee of educationists under the Director of Education, Mr D.J. Oman, in 1920. On the committee was an African, Mr Josiah Spio-Garbrah, who had been the headmaster of the then Government Boys’ School at Cape Coast since 1912, and from 1923, Inspector of Schools.
With the handover of the reins of government to Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the Department of Education, which was one of the technical departments of the colonial secretariat, was abolished and replaced with the Ministry of Education and Social Welfare in 1951. It was headed by Kojo Botsio from 1951-1954, who was the first minister.
In 1955, the name of the ministry was changed to the Ministry of Education with Joseph Allasani as minister till 1960 when it was again changed to the Ministry of Information and Education with Kofi Baako as the minister. The Education section was separated from Information in 1961 with A.J. Dowuona-Hammond as the Minister of Education.
A Commissioner for Education, Mojaben Dowuona, was named after the 1966 coup. The designation of the ministry was subsequently changed to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports with William Ofori-Atta as the minister. In 1971, R.R. Amponsah headed the Ministry of Education and Sports. Lt. Col. Paul Nkegbe became the Commissioner for Education from 1972 to 1973 when it was restructured as the Ministry of Education and Culture.
Some of the agencies that operated under the ministry then were the Arts Council of Ghana, which was established in 1968 by NLC Decree No. 252; the Ghana Library Board set up in 1950; the Ghana Institute of Languages established in 1961, the Bureau of Ghana Languages, established in 1951 and the Ghana Teaching Service (now Ghana Education Service) to take care of non-teaching staff set up in 1974.
Between 1974 and 1975, Col. E.O. Nyante was the Commissioner of Education and Culture. From 1976 to 1978, E. Owusu-Fordwuoh took over as Commissioner for Education and Culture. Dr Evans Anfom became Commissioner for Education in 1979, Dr Kwamena Ocran, Minister of Education, Culture and Sports in 1980 and Dr F.K. Buah, Minister of Education in 1981.
Others were Ama Ata Aidoo, Secretary for Education (1982/83), V.C. Dadson, Secretary for Education (1984), Joyce Aryee, Secretary for Education (1985/86), Dr Mohammed Ben Abdallah, Secretary for Education (1987-1988) and K.B. Asante, Secretary for Education (1989-1990). The rest were Dr (Mrs) Mary Grant, Secretary responsible for Education (1991/92) and Dr Alex Ababio, acting Minister of Education (1993), Mr Harry Sawyer (1993-1996), Dr Christina Amoako-Nuama (1997-1999) and Mr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah (1999-2000).
When the current government took the country’s administration in 2000, Prof. Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi was appointed Minister of Education, Youth and Sports in 2001. In 2003, Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu was made Minister of Education, Youth and Sports. The name of the ministry was changed to the Ministry of Education and Sports in 2005 with Yaw Osafo-Maafo heading it. In the same year, following a Cabinet reshuffle, Papa Owusu-Ankomah was made the minister with the name of the ministry changed from the Ministry of Education and Sports to the current Ministry of Education, Science and Sports.
To pursue his presidential ambition, Papa Owusu-Ankomah resigned as minister and Prof. Dominic Fobih was appointed as the minister in 2007.
From the foregoing, it is clear that the education ministry since the colonial era has gone through a lot of metamorphosis so as to meet the needs of the time, among other things.