Mr Kofi Asare, the Executive Director, Eduwatch Ghana, has asked the Education Minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum to justify the plan to repaint and transform the brown and yellow colours of public schools into blue and white.
Having worked with schools in remote areas for decades, he said the brown and yellow colours could stand the test of time for about 10 years before badly needing a repainting.
However, the blue and white colours would attract dirt within a short while, he said.
“Meanwhile, Ghana is currently in an economic crisis and a lot will go into painting of all public basic schools nationwide,” he said.
Mr Asare said this in an interview with an Accra-based television station.
Speaking about the changing of public school uniforms, too, the Executive Director said government had to assess itself if it could provide uniforms for all basic school children around the same time.
“I have had an encounter with many children whose parents had to find other ways of convincing them to go to school because there was a change of uniform and they hadn’t gotten one,” he said.
Government should empower schools, place them on budget lines to enable them to maintain the schools and find out their priorities to offer them the right support at the right time, he said.
“For all you know, some may want replacement of broken desks, replacement of damaged doors to prevent some community members from invading the classrooms for their private businesses or a maintenance of their pavilions, and not painting,” he added.
Eduwatch Ghana, fully Africa Education Watch, is an education policy research and advocacy organisation working with civil society organisations, governments and the private sector to promote equitable, accountable and responsive education system that assures of quality and equal opportunities for all.
