Factors contributing to the disparities of academic performance in public and private basic schools in the New Juaben municipality

Abstract

Educational policies made in Ghana have always had quality as their hallmark. Even though quality has been the main aims of many reforms and policies, the desired quality has not yet been achieved. In this study, an attempt was made to establish the many reasons why private basic schools were doing considerably better than public counterparts. The descriptive research design was used in this study. The stratified and simple random samplings were use in selecting the sample. In all 280 respondents made up of 20 headteachers, 60 teachers and 200 students were used. Six research questions were formulated. Questionnaire was the main tool used for the research. Data were analysed using frequencies, percentages, and mean scores. Results of the study revealed that private schools were better resourced, had parents of pupils whose socio-economic status was higher and hence were more involved in their children’s education. Private schools were more frequently supervised internally, had teachers who were better motivated, and managed the use of instruction time better than public schools. Public schools had more professionally qualified teachers than the private schools. It was recommended that during P.T. A meetings, parents would be made to sit in the classes their wards are in, this would afford them and the teachers, actual time to look at their wards` performance individually. Also teachers should improvise the teaching and learning resources which were not available in the schools in order to enhance the quality of education in both private and public basic schools in the country