Education standards in Tarkwa decline

The educational standard of students, particularly those in basic schools in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality of the Western Region, has fallen drastically.

DAILY GUIDE gathered that the educational performance in the municipality has gone down to the extent that when the results of the 2013 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) were compared to that of 2014, it was realised that last year’s results were abysmal.

The Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Assembly used to be one of the best districts of the Western Region in terms of educational performance.

It was, therefore, surprising when news broke out that one of the basic schools in the municipality that used to record impressive results in the BECE had recorded zero percent in 2014.

Some parents, who could not hide their frustrations at the current trend, blamed the municipal assembly for allegedly doing nothing to help improve on the pupils’ educational performance.

When DAILY GUIDE contacted Nana Kweku Baah, public relations officer of the municipality, he confirmed the assertion that educational performance in the area had gone down.

He attributed the situation partly to the myriad problems confronting the educational directorate in the municipality which needed urgent attention.

Nana Kweku Baah indicated that lack of assistance and support from the necessary stakeholders in the educational sector in the area had made the municipal directorate handicapped in its operations, adding that the municipal directorate did not have adequate vehicles for proper monitoring and supervision of the schools in the area.

According to him, “There is also no money for circuit supervisors to go round and so sometimes they have to use their own money to pay for transport fares when embarking on their supervision works.”

He disclosed that the municipal education office was also located in a dusty area along the Tarkwa-Aboso road.

The PRO alleged that staff of the directorate had always been inhaling the dusts as vehicles passed by, putting the health of the staff at risk.

He also mentioned that the municipal director of education had no proper place to stay as the bungalow given to the director was in dire need of renovation.

Nana Kweku Baah stressed that the challenges were gradually crippling the efforts of the municipal directorate of education to help improve students’ educational performance.

He indicated several efforts to get assistance from the municipal assembly and other corporate bodies to assist the directorate surmount its challenges had not yielded positive results.

The PRO regretted that not much was being done by the municipal assembly to avert the challenges.