Infamous one new school building, one new uniform policy of President Akufo Addo

The Nana-Addo-Dr. Bawumia-led NPP government has started what we at Ghana Education News call “one new school building and one new uniform policy”. Indeed, this description fits the announcement by the Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum’s announcement that the government was going to change the uniforms of public schools from yellow and brown to blue and white to reflect the new school buildings  (model schools) to add to the aesthetic beauty of the school environment.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Education Ministry, Kwasi Kwarteng quickly came out to explain that the government was not engaging in the mass changing of uniforms for public schools but instead, the uniforms in question would be for the newly constructed basic schools by the government.

If that is what the minister intended to communicate, then the one new school building and one new uniform policy truly fit the decision.

As stakeholders in education call for government policies and strategic choices that transform basic education in Ghana, the NPP-led government has decided to focus on less important changes such as the introduction of new uniforms for learners who will enroll in schools built under President Akuffo-Addo.

If previous governments had chosen to alter the school uniforms for students attending public schools each time they built or gave them major facelifts, you can imagine the several types of public school uniforms this country would have.

This government seems to be working so hard to improve the quality of education, yet some of its decisions leave much to be desired.

For reasons they are aware of, the ruling government may be making efforts to distinguish schools constructed under this government from those established by previous governments.

When the double track SHS emerged, the National Flag’s colours Yellow and Green were used to name the SHS Track which became popular. One would have thought that these same nationalistic colours would be considered for this very unpopular decision; instead, the government chose to use the colours of the ruling party to replace the traditional colours of school buildings and inform public schools.

The uniformity of all public school uniforms is very important. These yellow and brown public school uniforms serve as a common form of public identification. Once you see the uniform, you know the learner attends a public school. Again, if a learner moves from one public school to another to continue his or her education, he or she should be able to wear the same uniform at the new school, all things being equal. These new uniforms, introduced before public awareness, will require parents to purchase them adding to their financial burdens.

Allegations suggest that the government, through the Ministry of Education, may have financed the blue and white uniforms worn by the students in the newly constructed model school. Often, not all learners in a given school or class would have the approved uniform from the beginning of the term or the commencement of the school’s operation.

An earlier documentary of the school in question revealed that the learners were wearing their usual yellow and brown uniforms. However, with the construction of a new school building, all the learners wore the new uniform that the Minister of Education proposed.

When did an education minister’s responsibility shift to proposing uniforms for public schools, given the pressing issues facing public basic schools nationwide?

Reacting to the introduction of the new uniforms, an educationist, Mr. Samule Zigah, stated that the decision to change the uniforms of public schools was not necessary. He also questioned the transformative impact of the new blue and white uniform.

Speaking on Accra 100.5 FM’s evening news on Friday, April 26, 2024, Mr. Zigah called on the ministry to direct its energy towards updating the uniforms of the staff within the ministry.

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He furthered that such a swift change in uniform through the one new school building and one new uniform policy could be used as a means of awarding lucrative contracts to associates and allies of the ruling party.