Positive Effect of The Coronavirus, Economist View

Rethink

• Corona has allow our politicians to realise our health sector is weak
• Corona has allow the rich to care for the poor
• Infrastructure deficit exposed
• Great creativity and skills of Ghanaian's at display
• Assault reduced, etc

The Weak Education System

Teaching always goes with learning, with the foundation being discipline. If one is weak the whole system is weak just like the human body.

Reinforcement as a reward for learning has been ignored in Ghana.

Positive Reinforcement: this strengthens behaviour  by providing a consequence an individual finds rewarding. e.g. To enjoy free education, you need to have grade 20 or better in BECE, this is rewarding.

Negative Reinforcement: this strengthens a behaviour  by removing an unpleasant reinforcer. e.g. If you get below 50% in any two or more subjects, you will be repeated or denied free education. This is rewarding. (Theory by B.F. Skinner, 1938).

The Affective domain (Social, emotional or feelings) and the Psychomotor domain (Physical) have been ignored now by policy makers. All policy is focusing on the Cognitive domain (thinking). 

Now students behaviour cannot be controlled in schools and students do not have any motivation to learn because all policies gives students Freedom and not rewarding to learn. 

• Students can not be repeated for poor performance
• Passing only English and Maths gives you admission to SHS under the free education as if only Maths and English is taught in SHS.
• Students performs poorly and the teacher is blamed.

Students are in the house and majority are watching movies and telenovelas or on social media chatting or posting pictures  ignoring the educational channels introduced now and their books because they know at the end leaked past questions will be available or some teachers will solve questions for them during the exams, or big men and women will work it out for them to get job or tertiary to attend. When school resumes majority of students would have forgotten everything and policy makers will put pressure on teachers to deliver, forgotten the students are having the freedom not to learn.

Economist View:

If nothing is done about students lack of learning, this will lead to a situation where they will assume positions and will lack ideas to lead, become politicians and will make bad policies, become a pharmacy and prescribe wrong prescription, become a teacher and impact wrong knowledge, become a Judge and judge wrongly without merit or facts. They will always go for the safe senario that is the easy way to make money without considering the consequences, which most of the time are dangerous. Will be going for loans for consumption but not investment, etc.

All these are danger to the economy and the Ghanaian economy future is in shambles if nothing is done after Corona.

Solutions:

• Cut of points should be introduce before one benefit from free education
• Class and exams score combined, below 50% in two or more subjects the student should be repeated.
• If the next academic there is no improvement, the student shouldn't enjoy the free education.
• Affective and Psychomotor should be improved to serve as a reinforcement for student to learn.
• The community and parents should support and respect teachers to improve discipline. 
• The law should be review to let all ministers and government appointees  to let their children attend schools in Ghana, so they can understand the education system very well and make good policies and also equip schools with the basic facilities needed.

We are not in normal times and Ghana, is almost in recession.

Watch out for the health sector next of Rethink our Economy is out of control, the future is dying, the new generation in big trouble because our thinking is out of control 

#Be yourself# Ghana need us.

By: Mr. Aligah Seyram Emmanuel

Economics Tutor at Tanyigbe Senior High School

Tel: +233 54 622 5631