Implement the incentives for teachers in deprived areas - COMEU

Mr Gabriel Senanu, Volta Regional Chairman of the Conference of Managers of Educational Units (COMEU), has called on government to implement without delay the proposed incentive package for teachers working in deprived areas.

He said the implementation of that policy would help sustain the growing interest of young teachers to accept posting to the rural areas.

Mr Senanu was briefing the media after a tour of selected schools in the Ho Municipality, Adaklu and Kpetoe-Ziope Districts by COMEU, Volta Chapter to mark “My first Day in School” activities.

He said a study leave after two years rural service instead of five years and affinity to those areas appeared to be factors attracting teachers to typical rural settings.

Schools visited during the tour include Vodzakpo Catholic Primary, Adaklu-Dave Salvation Army Primary, Be Methodist Primary, Anglican Basic School, Kpetoe, Agbokope Zion Primary and Nuriya Islamic Basic School, Ho.

Mr Senanu also appealed for closer ties between the Ghana Education Service (GES) and COMEU to improve management of the schools.

He said the import of the tour was to imprint on the minds of new comers that the school environment was pleasurable, motivate teachers; interact with parents and community leaders.

Mr Senanu said the team distributed exercise books, toys, biscuits and toffees to the kids many of who were in casual attires.

Mr Richard Kudedzi, COMEU Volta Chapter Secretary, said many of the schools visited were in outlandish areas and had poor infrastructure, no potable water, mobile phone networks and electricity.

He said the Vodzakpo community for example was a collection of farmsteads 10 kilometers from Agortime-Kpetoe, from where teachers commute daily to school, three-quarters of the journey on foot.

Mr Kudedzi would rather not talk about enrolment yet as he said “pupils are still trickling in and that will continue for some time”.

He said however that some schools had classes combined.

Mr Kudedzi said many of the schools visited were not frequently visited by educational authorities because of resource constraints.

Education units under COMEU in the Volta Region include Catholic, Evangelical Presbyterian, Presbyterian, Methodist, Salvation Army, Zion, Garrison, Islamic and Anglican.