Private versus Public Schools in Accra

Over the course of two days, we visited a “Low cost” private school, and a public school in Accra. This is a massive city, so they are not in the same neighborhood, but both serve what Americans would consider an “underserved” population. The headmaster at the low cost private school explained that the majority of parents with any amount of income prefer their children to attend private schools because of the cache attached. Additionally, private schools allow a bit more freedom (which is often the opposite in the US) than public schools. For example, both girls and boys must wear a very close haircut or a shaved head in public school, but can choose to wear their hair any way they would like in a private school. A former Rastafarian student at this particular low-cost private school (a different location) actually made Ghanian history when he sued the government for making him cut his dreads when he arrived at a public secondary school. It went al the way to the Ghanian Supreme Court, and he ultimately prevailed, so now Rastafarians are allowed to wear their hair as they choose in public schools too. But, for everyone else, the desire to attend a more elite primary institution is real. So, the low-cost private school provides that chance for kids who cannot afford the more expensive options for private school. For 12 Ghanaian Cedi per day (around $1 depending on the exchange rate), students can attend school and a smalle, independently run school. According to the headmaster, who attended private school until secondary (when most attend public school anyway since they are all boarding schools that require certain test scores to attend), other private schools in the area cost the equivalent of $40 USD per term, but then require additional funds for transportation, food, uniforms, etc. So, his option, while still a lot more than many locals can afford, is technically the cheaper option.

At the private school, we saw smaller class sizes, but some fairly new, undertrained teachers. Many had gone through teacher training and completed their one year of national service in the public schools, but still seemed very green. The students are all respectful and eager to learn, but their routines were not as established, and even some of their content was a little incorrect. They have an academic coach, like many schools in the US, that would interrupt their lessons to give instant feedback, which often disrupted their groove in the lesson. The headmaster explained that the goal was to always improve the way the education was delivered, but for most of us, it seemed like a frustrating distraction.

The students we spoke to seemed happy not to be at a public school. The main reason was class sizes, but the private school also offered after school clubs, and had enough computers for student to work on them in pairs (and sometimes solo). They also have a class set of tablet phones the students can use to communicate with a chat bot that works on math problems with them, giving them instant responses, suggestions, and more tailored questions. The data compiled is not yet available to teachers, so they still have to monitor the chat bot work and collect student responses, but the chat bot seemed to engage students in some challenging math for the 30 minutes they had to use it. The math, at least in the Grade 7 junior high class I observed using this bot, was on grade level and even higher for some students who were excelling. It was clear this chat bot company (which I will not name here) is using these students to beta test their program, so I am not sure if the headmaster will be able to find the money to pay for the bot once the whole package, including the every-valuable data, is available. I enjoyed my visit to the school because I learned a lot about the social structures surrounding schooling in Ghana, but I was left wishing we could do more to help the teachers adapt better to the new, more student-centered curriculum since they have the space, more resources, and time. What we witnessed was still very traditional and exactly what one pictures when they think about education in Ghana…

Meanwhile, in the public school, teachers are STRAPPED for resources, have 75+ kids in a classroom, and a new curriculum to implement, but are still finding ways to be innovative. The public schools, just like in the US, contain the better-trained teachers (don’t @ me on this one; the data show public school teachers are better trained to be TEACHERS, even though private schools may hire people with higher degrees in content-knowledge who just lecture all day) utilizing more innovative strategies. What was infuriating was that just the day before, we met with an NGO who told us they are working to provide these trainings to teachers to implement the government mandates (which honestly look great on paper because they are standards-based, culturally-relevant, and focused on things like SEL and 21st Century Skills), but looking around the public school we visited, these resources were not apparent.

The teachers were inspiring. I am not being patronizing; as soon as we spoke to them one-on-one, they laid in to their government’s failure to provide for them and these kids, and expressed their frustration openly. But, in front of their students, who were full of joy and gratitude to be in school that day, they were pros. These teachers could manage the 75+ kids (ranging from K-8th since the 9th had already taken their placement exams and were finished with term) by keeping them engaged even as they work through the new curriculum. I heard them discussing with students why “maths are everywhere” and are not learned in a vacuum. I saw them using real-world data that is interesting to the students to practice line graphs. I witnessed the computer teacher talking about social media with students as she began the unit that would provide them some digital literacy and global knowledge (and she was using the SINGLE LCD PROJECTOR in the entire school, even though the Internet was spotty and barely connected). Even with all the challenges they face, these teachers, most of whom had many years of experience, were clearly happy to be there with their students. They build relationships, they encourage and challenge, and they make the school day fun for kids who do not have a playground, a library, or even a decent soccer ball to kick around.

I asked the head of school and every teacher wha they want me to ask the Ministry when we visit them next week. Overwhelmingly, the response was : “Tell them we are happy to do this work, with the new curriculum, but they need to fund this work.” Or, as the head of school said more plainly, “Where is the money”? Where, indeed? As I journey on to my host community to explore education in a rural setting, I look forward to drawing more comparisons and contrasts. I will also continue to compile this list or questions for the government…

Above - Scenes from the low-cost private school, Rising Academies Network

Above - scenes from the Bethany Methodist Basic School (public K-9). I is important to note that the maths being done at the public school were not as on grade level as the maths at the private school, but the public school has no chat bot, ten computer total in the building, no calculators, and no workbooks.