We would tackle challenges facing the country' education 96 Minister

Kumasi, May 24, GNA - Mrs Betty Mould Iddrisu, Minister of Education, has pledged the government's determination to tackle identified challenges facing the country's educational system for efficiency.

She said government would ensure that the right environment was created for effective teaching and learning.

Mrs Mould-Iddrisu was addressing teachers and educational workers of the Ghana Education Service (GES) at a durbar in Kumasi.

It was to solicit ideas and suggestions on how to address problems in the schools.

The Minister expressed concern about the growing reports of encroachment on school lands and said the way out was to wall the schools.

The difficulty, however, was the inadequate budgetary allocation. In the 2011 budget for example a provision for only GH¢300,000.00 was made towards this.

She said to help solve the transport problems of some Senior High Schools (SHS) the government had within the year distributed 85 buses and 15 Mahindra Pick-up vehicles to those institutions.

Mr George Smith Graham, Chief Executive Officer of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission said the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) was to attract and retain qualified personnel in the public service.

He said it was important to recognize that in any salary administration, sustainability of payment was crucial.

Mr Joseph Kwabena Onyinah, Ashanti Regional Education Director, described the academic performance of schools in the region as encouraging.

Last year for instance 77.8 per cent of candidates that sat for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) qualified to enter SHS compared with the national average of 60 per cent.

Mr Onyinah said more needed to be done by way of capacity building of directors and heads of educational institutions to ensure effective management of resources provided by both the government and development partners.