The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward, yesterday paid a working visit to the Presbyterian Women’s College of Education (PWCE) and its model kindergarten at Aburi in the Eastern Region as part of his tour of the country.
The visit formed part of activities aimed at strengthening partnerships in the education sector, particularly in the area of early grade teaching and learning as well as reaffirming the United Kingdom’s support for Ghana’s efforts to scale play-based early childhood education nationwide.
Welcoming the Duke, the Deputy Minister of Education, Dr Clement Abas Apaak, said the visit signalled confidence in Ghana’s ongoing reforms and demonstrated the “deep and enduring relationship” between the two countries.
He noted that play-based learning had become central to the country’s early childhood education strategy because research consistently showed that young children developed literacy, numeracy, confidence and social skills more effectively through play.
“Play is the genesis of all structured learning,” he said, explaining that children learned best when given opportunities to explore, ask questions and interact with their environment,” he stressed.
Dr Apaak said although Ghana’s policy framework already prioritised play-based instruction, the key challenge was ensuring its full implementation in classrooms across the country.
This, he noted, required reorienting teachers away from rote methods toward more engaging and child-centred approaches.
The Deputy Minister described early grade teachers as “architects of the next generation,” emphasising that investments in their training were critical to sustaining quality learning outcomes.
He cited the partnership between PWCE and Sabre Education as a model initiative improving teacher preparation, upgrading in-service skills and enhancing pupils’ learning experiences and emotional well-being.
He also acknowledged earlier support from the UK government, which he said had played a catalytic role in strengthening Ghana’s early childhood education reforms.
Dr Apaak reaffirmed the Ministry of Education’s commitment to scaling the PWCE–Sabre model nationwide, adding that every district stood to benefit from high-quality early childhood pedagogy.
The Duke later toured the model classrooms to observe the play-based approach in practice.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
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