We can’t make basic education compulsory – Mahama

Parents cannot be forced to send their wards to school, President John Dramani Mahama has said.

His comments come on the back suggestions by the flagbearer of the Progressive People’s Party that education must be made compulsory for children at the basic level to ensure that they grow up with the needed skills needed for the job market.

But speaking at the Presidential Debate organized by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), the president disagreed with the assertions by Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom.

He maintained that the issue of graduates not meeting the needs of the job market has nothing to do with universal enrolment in schools, but the challenge of producing technical graduates for the job market.

“You can’t put a gun to every parent’s head to say why your child is not going to school or go to prison because your child is not in school. The question is are we producing what industry and business wants. Industries and businesses want more technical graduates; they want more science-based rather than more humanities. Some of the humanities are saturated; they don’t need them anymore. We need to recheck and that is exactly what we are doing under these reforms that we are carrying out,” he said.
Candidates participating in tonight’s Presidential Debate are; John Dramani Mahama of the NDC, Ivor Greenstreet of the CPP, Dr. Edward Mahama of the PNC, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom of the PPP, and Independent presidential candidate, Jacob Osei Yeboah.

The debate is being held at the Banquet Hall of the State House being moderated by Dan Afari Yeboah of “What do You Know” fame and Mrs. Selikem Acolatse Apaloo.

http://pulse.com