GES Council streamlines roles of district/regional officers

Kumasi, Sept 29, GNA - The Ghana Education Service (GES) Council, has initiated steps to streamline the role of District Directors and Regional Managers of Educational Units to avoid duplication of functions.

This formed part of the Council's recommendations to the Service aimed at resolving the current strain relationship between the district and regional educational units regarding performance of roles. Mr Joseph Kwabena Onyinah, the Ashanti Regional Director of Education, who announced this in Kumasi last Friday, said the recommendations were also meant to establish a peaceful and effective partnership between the GES and religious bodies. Addressing District Directors of Education and Regional Managers of Educational Units in the Ashanti Region, Mr Onyinah said the recommendations redefined the functions of the District Directors of Education and the Unit Managers to eliminate areas where duties overlapped.

He advised participants to look at their structures and operations and make the necessary adjustments to conform to the new national reforms in education.

"If the partnership is to work peacefully and effectively towards the achievement of quality education and opening up of access to a lot of children, then there is the need to review the mode of operation between GES and the educational units", he added. Mr Onyinah emphasised that the objectives for establishing education units were to supplement government's effort in providing quality and holistic education and maintained high moral, religious and academic standards.

He noted that under the financial decentralisation policy, all salaries and allowances of teachers would go to the District Directors of Education except salaries of unit office staff. Mr Kofi Sarfo-Kantanka, the Sekyere East District Director of Education, said educational units have no budget line for their teachers and that they should recommend their qualified teachers to the District Directors of Education for promotion and also furnished them with appraisal reports.