Voters place premium on education — NCCE survey

GHANAIAN voters consider education as their first priority, followed by health and agriculture. To them, these are the issues that are of utmost importance.
A survey conducted in April 2008 by the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), based on 10 important, pressing needs, education topped them all, followed by health and agriculture.
According to the NCCE survey, education had 77.4 per cent of respondents, health, 65.7 per cent and agriculture 43.2 per cent.
The polls on issues of much concern to the Ghanaians voter in the 2008 elections was aimed at providing political parties with a list of political issues expected by the civil society.
Other issues were women and children, 30. 7 per cent; economy, 22.8 per cent; Youth development, 18.3 per cent; national security, 11.3 per cent; corruption, 10.9 per cent; housing, 10 per cent and social welfare, 7.5 per cent.
According to the report, no political party would have the 50 per cent plus one vote necessary to win the general elections in the first round, and it was, therefore, anticipated that there would be a possible second round of voting.
When the question was put “which political party do you think will win the presidential election”, the respondents thought the National Democratic Congress (NDC) would slightly top the 2008 elections, followed by the New Patriotic Party (NPP’s), which had 42.6 per cent.
The report said the Convention People’s Party (CPP) had 6.3 per cent, People’s National Convention (PNC) with 1.1 per cent, while other political parties had 0.7 per cent.
The polls also revealed that 96.9 per cent of the respondents said they would vote in the general election. Only 2.8 per cent said they would not vote, whereas 0.3 per cent were undecided.
The respondents said education was very crucial in personal and national development and specifically wanted the government to focus on making it free, especially at the basic level.
Out of a total of 7,277, respondents on education were 1,691, representing 23. 2 per cent called for free education. Twenty point one (20.1) per cent of the respondents wanted better infrastructure for educational institutions, while 16.2 per cent called for better incentive for teachers.
Thirty point nine (30.9) per cent, 21. 8 per cent and 21.8 per cent of the respondents wanted civil society to assist in the provision of educational materials, set up educational institutions and set up scholarship schemes respectively.
The major expectation of respondents across the country on health was that the government must provide health facilities, streamline and nationalise the National Health Insurance Scheme, and provide adequate trained and highly motivated health personnel.
Civil society was expected to help in equipping health facilities, provide health facilities and embark on intensive public education on health-related matters.
Agriculture, which placed third was seen as an area that provides food, employment and economic well-being of the people. And so, 32.4 per cent of the respondents called for subsidies.