Teachers are not to be blamed for poor performance

Accra (Greater Accra), 9 Feb '99 -

The government was yesterday urged to consider re-hiring retired trained teachers and secondary school leavers for teaching appointments in schools in rural areas to arrest the falling standards of education there. Mr Kwesi Sarkwa, a farmer at Adawso, near Mamfe, Said in Accra yesterday that poor performance of pupils in rural schools cannot be attributed to their teachers ''but must be blamed on inadequate staffing in these schools''. Mr Sarkwa said aside of the problems facing schools in the rural areas such as poor environment, lack of learning and teaching materials, staffing is the major issue. He cited a school -- Asempaneye Local Authority primary school -- where since September last year, there has been only three teachers taking charge of six classes. "Due to this, the performance of pupils at the basic level is very poor. And in spite of this disadvantage, the children are required to write the same Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) with their colleagues in the urban areas''. He said all efforts by the Akwapim North District Assembly to address the issue has proved futile. As a way out, he said, retired teachers who are anxious to come back to the classroom should be placed on contract and secondary school leavers also should be engaged adding ''teachers from training colleges are not enough to meet the demands of schools in the rural areas''.