Professor Stephen Adei has attributed the falling standards of education in public schools to poor supervision and over-centralisation.

He argued that there is no proper supervision and accountability at the district level because of the "over-centralisation of Ghana Education Service so that when a teacher misbehaves at a school level, there is practically nothing that can be done by the head teacher or anybody can do if you go through the system it will take you years.

"There is practically no supervision and accountability at the school level. Management is disenfranchised, teachers can do whatever," he added.

Asked whether privatising elementary public schools could improve the standards, Prof. Adei dismissed the idea, saying wholesale privatisation is not the solution.

He said: “My support is improving the public schools, the average Ghanaian has to be trained in the public school, the parents have paid their taxes, already we have trained the teachers, what is needed is so little, insisting that the teachers do what they are paid to do, decentralising management supervision.

"We don't have to even put in, when it comes to basic schools, more money. Money is not the issue. It is the question of those entrusted with the job are not doing it."