The Ghana Education Service (GES) has announced the full deployment of its PLC (Professional Learning Communities) platform for all basic schools across the country aimed at improving the operational efficiency of basic schools in Ghana.
According to an official circular dated 20th September 2024, signed by Dr. Kwabena Bempah Tandoh, the Deputy Director-General (Q&A), the initiative seeks to ensure the effective implementation of PLCs in schools by providing a centralized digital platform for heads of schools and administrators to manage and monitor these sessions.
The PLC Platform: What It Offers
The GES PLC platform offers a range of features designed to support school leaders in running PLC sessions. The platform comes with weekly modules that serve as guides for school leaders to conduct these sessions effectively. In addition, it allows directors at various levels of the GES to remotely monitor the sessions and provide timely support when necessary. This platform is expected to streamline the reporting process as heads of schools are required to submit reports on their PLC sessions through the platform.
Deployment Across Regions
The deployment of the GES PLC platform initially covered twelve regions before being extended to all sixteen regions. However, a recent report revealed that a majority of schools have not yet signed up for the platform, raising concerns about full participation. In response, the GES has directed Regional Directors to notify District Directors and ensure that Headteachers and Curriculum Leads in basic schools complete the onboarding process. Additionally, ICT coordinators at both regional and district levels have received the necessary training to facilitate the process.
Ensuring Compliance and Monitoring
To ensure the success of the platform’s integration, District Directors, Deputy Directors in charge of supervision, and School Improvement Support Officers (SISOs) have been tasked with ensuring that all basic schools are actively using the GES PLC platform. These officials are expected to monitor the PLC sessions, review the submitted reports, and provide feedback to schools to improve the quality of these learning communities.
ALSO READ: WASSCE invigilators fined, others remanded- WAEC
The Importance of PLCs in Education
Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) play a critical role in fostering collaboration among educators to improve teaching practices and student learning outcomes. By making the PLC sessions more structured and data-driven through the new platform, GES hopes to enhance the overall quality of education at the basic level. This digital transformation aligns with the government’s broader agenda of leveraging technology to advance education in Ghana.
The GES has expressed confidence that with the full implementation of this platform, school heads and teachers will have the resources needed to improve their teaching methods while maintaining better communication with district and regional education authorities.
Conclusion
The GES is counting on the cooperation of all stakeholders, including school leaders and education directors, to ensure the successful onboarding of basic schools onto the PLC platform. This initiative is a pivotal step towards ensuring that basic schools in Ghana run more efficiently, with adequate support and monitoring from the GES.
As schools continue to embrace technology, it is anticipated that the GES PLC platform will play an instrumental role in enhancing the performance and management of educational institutions in Ghana.
Join our WHATSAPP CHANNEL, WHATSAPP GROUP 1, WHATSAPP GROUP 2 and TELEGRAM CHANNEL to get all relevant teaching resources to make your lessons effective.
Subscribe to this blog and follow us on facebook
