Gov't urged to implement document on volunteering

The Net Organisation for Youth Empowerment and Development (NOYED – Ghana), has called on government to take actions towards the implementation of the volunteering provisions in the country’s National Youth Policy Document.

The call was in a statement issued by NOYED – Ghana signed by its Executive Director, Mr Alhassan Abdulai Iddi and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Tamale on Saturday to mark this year’s International Volunteer Day Celebrations.

It is held on December 5, every year, as a day set aside by the United Nations to acknowledge the contributions of volunteers to community, national and international development.

The statement said this would result in quantum leap in outlook in terms of development of communities since the implementation of the provisions of the National Youth Policy Document would guide volunteers in their activities.

It recognized the key contributions of community volunteer teachers, saying their involvement in teaching activities had resulted in commendable improvements in teacher supply nationwide.

The statement said but for volunteer teachers, some schools especially in rural areas would have been without teachers quoting figures from a project dubbed: Tackling Education Needs Inclusively (TENI), which suggested that untrained teachers are managing most schools in rural areas.

It said: “From the TENI database, Jirapa District has 43.66 per cent (407) of its teachers untrained, out of a total number of 932 teachers, in the Talensi District, there are a total of 876 teachers and untrained teachers constitute 46.9 per cent.

“The West Mamprusi District has a slightly better case for teacher supply where there are 26.7 per cent of the teachers untrained out of a total of 778 teachers while Mamprugu-Moaduri District has a special case where out of a total of 284 teachers, untrained teachers constitute 71.47 per cent (203).”

The statement said “Investigations into the categories and number of untrained teachers reveal that majority of the untrained teachers are community volunteer teachers who are mostly unprofessional teachers who have basic qualifications, and who offer to serve in deprived and hard-to-reach areas.”

It said: “Working with both state and non-state stakeholders in education in the three regions of the north, “NOYED-Ghana has observed that the challenges to teacher supply in deprived districts cannot be addressed any time soon, most school communities will continue to rely on community volunteer teachers for a long time, given that the presence or absence of basic social amenities such as potable water, electricity and good roads are key determinants for attracting trained teachers to deprived areas.”

It said: “It pays to volunteer towards your community development so all especially the youth should endeavour to take up volunteering opportunities towards their communities and self-development.”

NOYED – Ghana is a Tamale-based non-governmental organisation and one of its priorities is to promote local volunteering practices in support of quality basic education and community development.