Recruit female teachers to enhance academic performance - Educationist

Chief Alhaji Yakubu Bukari, Principal of the Tamale College of Education, has suggested that interventions aimed at enhancing academic performance should focus on female recruitment as teachers.

He suggested that there should be a vigorous campaign aimed at supporting more females to go through pre-service teacher training to improve their professional skills to better impart knowledge to pupils and students.

He made the suggestion when addressing the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Campaign for Female Education (Camfed Ghana) in Tamale.

The two-day event, which opened on Wednesday, was to enable Camfed Ghana to report on the major team and programmatic activities undertaken within the year and to receive inputs from stakeholders to inform strategies and approaches for the coming year.

It is on the theme: “Improving Academic Performance in Schools: A Call for Urgent Innovative Actions.”

Chief Alhaji Bukari said research had shown that recruiting females as teachers had the potential for improved enrolment, retention and achievement.

He said there was the need to embark on pre-service and in-service training of teachers as part of efforts toward enhancing academic performance in the country.

He said: “This training should be geared towards equipping teachers with up-to-date skills to enable them to demonstrate learner-focused instructions, which will be reflected in effective questioning, learners’ active participation in lessons, provision of feedback, and utilisation of a variety of methodologies.”

He said this would promote critical thinking in learners which would lead to enhanced academic performance.

He called for engagement of experienced and more effective results-oriented teachers at the basic level of education especially in the deprived areas and motivating them with incentive packages to help improve academic performance.

Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, Northern Regional Minister, said government placed high premium on the education of the girl-child saying “the establishment of the Girls’ Education Unit under the Ghana Education Service is a major step towards boosting girls’ education in the country.”

Alhaji Limuna expressed delight at various opportunities being created by government and its partners for the development of the girl-child saying “opportunities created for women to take control of their future and live quality lives are opportunities created for good family life, peace, and national development.”

He commended Camfed Ghana on its efforts at complementing the government to enhance access to quality education for all, especially the girl-child.

Mrs Dolores Dickson, Executive Director of Camfed Ghana, said: “Though interventions by Camfed Ghana and other stakeholders in education have yielded some positive results, the country still experiences declining academic performance at different levels of education.”

Camfed is a non-governmental organisation engaged in eradicating poverty through education of girls and empowerment of young women.