President John Dramani Mahama has suggested that district education directors be granted the mandate to control the affairs of schools in their jurisdictions.

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Speaking at the Presidency during the presentation of the National Education Forum Report on Thursday, June 5, he noted that this will ensure accountability in schools.

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“Local governments, district education offices, school boards and community leaders must be given greater authority, flexibility and accountability in managing our schools,” he emphasised.

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He added that issues such as teacher absenteeism and payment of salaries to teachers who have abandoned their posts can effectively be managed by district education directors.

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President Mahama also proposed that the teachers' recruitment be done across the country.

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He argued that job vacancies for teachers should be announced by district offices rather than just at the national level.

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President Mahama argued that district education directors possess data on the number of schools and the corresponding staffing requirements within the area.

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Also, in an unrelated development, President Mahama has announced the government's commitment to transition from wooden desks to plastic or metal desks at various levels of education across the country.

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This is aimed at reducing deforestation nationwide and ensuring the preservation and protection of the country’s vegetation.

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The use of wood for school desks, which has been the norm in the Ghanaian education system for over a century, dates back to the colonial era when formal schooling was introduced.

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“...it is my intention to issue a directive to stop the use of wood for furniture. We are soon going to pass a directive so school furniture will no longer be made of wood so that we can stop the cutting down of our trees. We would either use recycled plastics or metals for our furniture,” the president said.

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He further added that “We can't be planting trees and cutting them down at the same time, and so to reduce the cutting of trees while we deal with plastics and felling of trees, let us not forget to deal with illegal small-scale mining.”

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Not only will wooden desks be banned, but also the importation of Styrofoam plastic, a common plastic used for the production of takeaway food packages, highlighting the plastic’s harmful effects and the danger it poses to the environment.

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“One of the most pernicious polluters is Styrofoam plastic,” he said. “When you go to buy your food and they put it in that white plastic something… and then you finish eating, you just dump it. That is one of the biggest polluters. And so we’re going to ban the importation of Styrofoam plastics,” the president remarked.

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President Mahama recommended the use of paper packaging or aluminum foil for the packaging of food.

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He added that manufacturers and importers of Styrofoam products should begin preparing for the change. “With the Ministry of Environment, soon we’re going to ban the importation and production of Styrofoam in Ghana. Our food packaging will be made from paper and also from aluminium material,” he said.

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Ghana generates an estimated 840,000 tonnes of plastic waste each year, according to a report by the Auditor General on plastic waste management.

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According to the Auditor General, only about 9.5% of this waste undergoes recycling, highlighting an urgent need for enhanced waste management and recycling strategies. The remaining 90.5% is either littered, dumped in drains, or burned in open areas without consideration of the environmental consequences.

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Climate change is a global crisis driven by human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and excessive plastic waste.

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In Ghana, environmental advocates have been vocal about the dangers of plastic pollution, emphasising its role in clogging waterways, harming marine life, and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.

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Organisations like Plastic Punch and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been leading efforts to reduce single-use plastics, with campaigns encouraging recycling, consumer behaviour change, and policy reforms.

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The government introduced the National Plastics Management Policy in 2020 to manage plastic waste across its entire lifecycle and promote a circular economy for plastics.

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