<<Print>>

The Member of Parliament for Suhum, Hon. Frederick Opare Ansah, has appealed to Members of the ECOWAS Parliament to do their utmost best to reduce high costs in attaining education in the sub-region.

In doing so, he wants them to be guided by the standards already set forth by their peers in the European Union.

“Our friends in Europe have instituted a policy that allows EU citizens attend school in any EU country at basically the same cost and with the same benefits as their home country would provide. They have achieved harmonization of educational systems and curricula and have some shared taught programs in their ERASMUS MUNDUS programs. I believe this should also be one of the benchmarks if we are serious about harmonizing our educational system and curricula,” he noted.

His call comes at a time the Community Parliament works towards improving and harmonizing the educational systems in the region.

Hon. Opare Ansah who is also a Member of the Community Parliament made this call when addressing the Delocalized Joint Committees on Education, Science and Technology & Communication and Information Technology of the ECOWAS Parliament in Accra on Tuesday.

The event which has brought the Members of the Community Parliament together to brainstorm on the educational systems in the sub region was under the theme: “Status of harmonization of the education system and programs in West Africa with specific reference to the equivalence of degrees, ranks, certificates and other qualifications.”

To ensure proper integration and a well harmonized educational system in the sub-region, Hon. Opare Ansah urged Member States to be prepared to adopt whatever changes will be put forward or improvements that need to be instituted to ensure they are on par with the rest of the Community with regards to standards.

“In our quest for regional integration, harmonization of our educational systems and curricula may be necessary catalyst. In a harmonized environment, there is transparency regarding curriculum development and a synchronized understanding of definitions regarding higher education including; of the learning load, the duration of courses, credit accumulation and recognition of experiential learning. There is also visibility concerning how individuals progress along and across educational systems,” he emphasized.