Abura Asebu Kwamankese District serious about quality education

In an effort to address the abysmal performance of students in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), the Abura Asebu Kwamankese District Assembly has evolved measures to improve the quality of teaching and learning.

The measures include incentive packages to sponsor untrained teachers to receive professional training.

Accommodation and bicycles to transport teachers in deprived areas would also be provided to motivate teachers to accept postings to the District.

The District scored 35 per cent in the 2010/2011 BECE.

Mr. William Atta-Mends, the District Chief Executive (DCE), in an interview with the GNA, said that more of the teachers’ quarters being constructed at Aboase, Abuenu and Amosema in the Abura and Asebu traditional areas were nearing completion whilst Kwamankese was yet to benefit.

Stakeholders have also intensified supervision and monitoring of schools to keep both teachers and students on their toes and also to strengthen the Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) to play their roles effectively and efficiently.

“The District Education Oversight Committee (DEOC) and the Education Task Force have been going round schools to ensure effective teaching and learning,” he said.

“The assembly will support the already existing “Best Teacher Award Scheme” by making it more attractive to motivate more teachers to perform better.”

On the issue of improving gender parity in schools, he said, sensitization campaigns to help address the low enrolment of females in schools was on course and the best female students would be rewarded soon to encourage more girls to attend school.

He noted that, the low attendance of girls to school had become a matter of great concern to the District Assembly which was collaborating with Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED), an NGO, and the Education Office to address the situation.

Under the collaboration, the education of some girls was being sponsored by CAMFED, which distributed uniforms, sandals and stationery to the beneficiaries recently to sustain their interest in schooling.

He said his outfit and the District Education Directorate had also embarked on sensitization programmes to encourage parents to put more efforts in their children’s education and to ensure that they were regular at school and not to be delinquent.

Mr. Atta-Mends expressed his gladness that the level of truancy played by school children was dropping as a result of the campaign, while they had also stopped staying out late in the evenings.**