Project to address abysmal performance in schools

 

The Tackling Education Needs Inclusively (TENI) Project is embarking on new strategies aimed at addressing the abysmal performance of basic schools in the Northern Regions.

As part of the measures to help address the problem, TENI Project has trained 31 retired Teachers, 11 Circuit Supervisors, 24 National
Volunteers, 12 NGOs partners and 16 District Education Staff including four frontline Assistant District Directors, on School Performance Review (SPR) and data collection.

All the participants drawn from the West Mamprusi District are supposed to collect data on SPR in 154 Basic Schools in the West Mamprusi District of the Northern Region.
 
Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC), Link Community Development, Pronet Association, the Ghana Education Service (GES),
National Service Secretariat and West Mamprusi, Talensi Nabdam and
Jirapa Districts are the Implementers of the TENI project which is a 10
year project.
   
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency after the workshop, the Upper East Regional Manager of ISODEC, Mr Jonathan Adabre, said the main objective of the data was to collate accurate and reliable and timely data that would help the Ghana Education Service to address the falling standards of education in basic schools in the West Mamprusi District and the Northern Regions in general.

Mr Adabre said he was unhappy about the trend of the poor performance of many basic schools in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions  and could continue to draw the development of the area backwards if the situation was not reversed.

He said that after the data collection, it would be analysed and shared at the District, Regional level and the National level to ensure that the duty bearers respond appropriately to the needs of the communities for improved education delivery in District, Regional and Northern Ghana in general.

Mr Adabre said the overall goal of the TENI project is to improve transition, retention and performance of basic schools in the three Northern Regions and indicated that the 10 year project was in its second year.
   
He said the TENI project had also initiated a dialogue with District Assemblies, GES and NGOs in the West Mamprusi to ensure that there was coherence and efficiency in the utilization of resources so as to avoid duplication of efforts.
   
Mr Bashiru Nurideen, TENI Coordinator for Link Community Development who facilitated the training workshop urged the participants to see themselves as owners of the data since they were all from the GES and indicated that the outcome of the data would help highlight the training needs of teachers, number of teachers required for effective education delivery and the level of participation of communities in education delivery among others.
   
The Deputy Director in charge of the West Mamprusi District,  Mr John Asagibe  said formally in gathering data on SPR the GES often engaged Circuit Supervisors but now with the involvement of the retired teachers, Circuit Supervisors and National Volunteers it would
make the data more meaningful to be able to address the poor performance of basic schools  in the area.
GNA
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WEST MAMPRUSI:
Director condemns dressing code of male teachers.

 

Alhaji Mohammed Haroun Cambodia, District Director of Education for West Mamprusi, has described as worrying the shabby manner some male teachers in the Northern Region were dressing to school. 

 

He said "These days the male teachers in the region, especially 
those in the villages, dress anyhow to school a situation that 
would not attract people into the teaching profession." 

Alhaji Cambodia expressed the concern in Tamale at the weekend when he addressed newly admitted students into the Tamale College of Education at their matriculation ceremony. 

Some 285 students comprising 96 women and 189 men got admission out of 720 applications received. 

 

Alhaji Cambodia said, "During my rounds when I was in the Tamale 
Metropolitan Education office a Director in West Mamprusi District 
revealed that most of the male teachers dress shabbily to school while their female counterparts dress neatly." 

He said teachers were supposed to serve as role models in 
communities they serve in. 

 

He commended female teachers for comporting themselves in 
the field saying, "I pray that you receive your reward here on earth but not in Heaven" and advised the new students to comport themselves during and after class hours. 

Alhaji Yakubu Bakari, the Principal of the college, said the college 
was preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary and called on current 
and past students to contribute to the success of the anniversary. 

 

He appealed to the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to assist 
the college to build a library to accommodate the increasing numbers of students. 

He advised the fresh students to be committed to their studies and 
should foster peaceful atmosphere for effective teaching and
learning. 

Mr. Edward Gayuni, Tamale Metropolitan Director of Education, advised the students to remain disciplined since they would be role models in society.

GNA/DS.

 

MP to support stock selected SHS libraries with text books

 

The Member of Parliament for Walewale , Hon. Sagre Bambangi says as part of his contributions to education, he has resolved to stock libraries of selected Senior High Schools(SHS) in his constituency with basic text books and other useful educational materials to help equip and broaden the horizon of students in education.

He said as a onetime University lecturer he reckoned the need for reading, and will support imbue the attitude of reading through the provision of relevant books and research materials to push this move.

Speaking to Ghanamps.gov.gh, Mr. Bambangi noted that promotion of quality education formed part of his plans for the constituency and has decided to commit funds to improve the standard of education and help students attain higher education.

He further said he will step up his support given over the years to needy but brilliant students, stressing that this time as an MP he has arranged to increase the number of students for this programme.

According to him, the momentum to national development is relatively driven by education, therefore will not relent to invest fairly in education.

Jonathan Jeffrey Adjei/Ghanamps.gov.gh
 

 

100 COMPUTER TO ARRIVE IN WALEWALE

The West Mamprusi District will be recieving 100 computer from the UK department of education. The 100 Dell desktop computers, formerly used at the Department for Education in London, to the West Mamprusi District of Education in northern Ghana to be used for the benefit of both students and adults in the community. 

 

The Department of Education in London is upgrading all its computers in order to switch to a cloud based system. This will result in several thousand computers being “disposed of”. These are reliable, quite modern Dell desktop computers each with a flat screen monitor, keyboard, mouse and cables. The machines will be sent to a company which will clean off the data but leave the Microsoft Office and operating system in place.

Whilst these computers have no further use to the DfE in the UK, they would clearly be very desirable acquisitions in the developing world where machines like this could be put to very good use. One such area is the very deprived West Mamprusi District of northern Ghana.

 

Information Technology has recently become a compulsory and examinable subject in the Ghanaian curriculum and students in the north of the country are at a huge disadvantage to their peers in the south where they have much better access to electricity and computers.

The project will also enable some Unqualified Teachers to have access to a computer and to the TESSA (Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa) materials both on CD and on the hard drive of every computer. It is worth noting that what makes this project special is its small-scale, local, grass-roots approach. Alhaji Mohammed Haroon (District Director of Education) is the leader of the project and Mahama I Mashood is the Project Manager.

 

Objectives of the project include the following:

  To provide Computer Centres in communities across West Mamprusi District

 To enable students to access the now compulsory Information and Communication Technology  (ICT) curriculum and learn hands on by using an actual computer

To prepare students to become global citizens with access to information and increased job opportunities

To train teachers in ICT and basic computer maintenance and improve the computer skills of other adults in the communities of West Mamprusi.

With this number of computer, the project Manager Mahama I Mashood believes that this will open more doors for the formation of more I.C.T clubs in the West Mamprusi District.

 

 

113 classrooms in West Mamprusi without teachers

West Mamprusi District has more than 113 classrooms without teachers at the primary level.

In addition, 83 kindergartens are without teachers, Mr. Charles .B. Midzira, Assistant Director of Finance and Administration of the Ghana Education Service (GES) disclosed on Saturday at Walewale during the district level celebration of National Volunteer’s Day organized by the Net Organization for Youth Empowerment (NOYED).

 

At the Kindergarten level pupil teacher-ratio stands at 101:1 while at the primary level the district records 44:1 which seems to meet the national average.

Mr Midzira said: “When we consider the ratio with the trained teachers as against the total enrolment, the district has 90:1”.

 

The celebration, which brought together many volunteers of the national service scheme and other volunteer individuals serving as teachers, was to encourage them to continue giving out their best to enhance quality education in rural areas.

 

He said West Mamprusi District had 100 kindergarten schools, 120 primary schools and 65 Junior High Schools and at each level the teacher-pupil ratio was not the best and commended the volunteer teachers who he noted had been immense benefit in filling the gaps.

 

Mr. Midzira called for concerted efforts of all Ghanaians particularly teachers to strive hard in whatever situation they found themselves, for excellence and eschew practices that were likely to impact negatively on education.

 

Mr. Malechi Saibu, West Mamprusi District Director of the National Service Scheme the National Volunteer Service (NVS), was a joint initiative formed between Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO), a British Non-Governmental Organization and the Ghana National Service Scheme (GNSS) in 2003 with the aim of encouraging the youth into teaching to empower the youth for national development.

 

He said one of the objectives of the National Volunteer programme was to address the chronic shortage of teachers in rural Ghana by deploying volunteers, especially female teachers to act as role models for girls and re-kindle a sense of civic duty and pride in the youth.

 

Mr. Saibu noted that about 79,000 schools in 44,952 communities in Ghana have benefited from the NV programme since its inception and indicated that the National Service Scheme was putting up proposals to engage SADA in meaningful use of the rich knowledge of national volunteers in the district.

Mr. Mohammed Awal Abukari, Finance and Administration Manager of NOYED-Ghana indicated that the NGO was committed to improving the quality of life of the youth and the vulnerable through the implementation of sustainable quality programmes.

 

He said his outfit entered a partnership with VSO to promote local volunteer initiatives so as to encourage the youth to make visible their contributions in achieving the MDGs.

The occasion was also used to present certificates to some volunteer teachers who were trained in lesson notes preparations and classroom management.

Source: GNA