JHS dropouts turn teachers

Painstaking investigations conducted by Daily Guide in the Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District of the Northern region have revealed that basic school pupils are being taught by Junior High School (JHS) dropouts due to the refusal of some teachers to accept postings to the volatile area.

There has been a decline in the standard of education which seems to be worrying various heads of departments and stakeholders in the region.

Some teachers are said to have either vacated their post to further their education or sought transfers to other areas, leaving the pupils to their fate.

Some residents in the area attributed the situation to the recurring violent clashes by the people over parcels of lands and chieftaincy issues which have hampered the development of the area.

Teachers and health personnel fled the area and have since not returned due to the protracted chieftaincy and land disputes in the district.

The only health facility in the Temaa community was totally destroyed after two Konkomba clans of Temaa and Namong clashed.

Most pregnant women were treated by traditional birth attendants and emergency cases were referred to the Nalerigu Baptist Medical Centre (BMC) which was crowded with patients.

The Yunyoorana Yamyia Tokah of the Yunyoo paramouncy confirmed that the situation had negatively affected education in the district.

The Yunyoorana said efforts to promote girl-child education in the area had been disrupted, adding that this would affect the human resource capacity of the district.

He therefore appealed to the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ghana Health Service to post enough teachers and health workers to the district to save residents from dying of hunger and diseases.

Addressing participants at the opening of the fourth Northern Regional Sector Review (ESAR) meeting in Tamale, San Nasamu Asabigi, the Deputy Northern Regional Minister, said enrolment figures in the various basic schools were unimpressive as against previous years and expressed worry at the abysmal performance of the pupils.

Hon. Asabigi bemoaned the continuous decline in the performance of final year pupils of JHSs in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) for the past four years in the region.

Statistics, he noted, revealed that pupils in the Northern region performed woefully in the BECE as compared with pupils in the Upper East and West regions, which arc also regarded as poor regions in the country.

According to him, the region scored 46.6 per cent pass in 2006, 42.5 per cent in 2007, 40.4 per cent in 2008 and 39.6 per cent in 2009.

The Deputy Minister stated that the lack of teachers in the region and the refusal to accept postings to rural areas by teachers across the region had worsened the situation, calling on them to rescind their decisions.

He disclosed that education is one of the priorities of the current administration, disclosing that it would invest in the sector to unearth the talents of the people for the country's growth.

Mr. Asabigi charged Metropolitan Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to partner stakeholders in education to achieve the desired results.

The Northern Regional Director of the Ghana Education Service (GES) Elizabeth De-Souza, at a recent meeting of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), reiterated the need for teachers to accept postings into rural areas in the region to improve education.

She noted that a yawning gap exists between the northern and southern parts of the country in terms or education but was optimistic that it could be addressed if all stakeholders and partners strategize appropriately.

Madam Elizabeth appealed to the assemblies to assist the education directorates in their areas to help improve education in the region.