Saltpond (C/R), Dec. 18, GNA - Ms Vivian Etroo, Mfantseman Municipal Director of Education, has expressed worry about the poor reading ability of pupils in the Municipality. He said reading ability of pupils in schools in the area has dropped from 23 per cent in English in the first half of the year to 15.2 per cent in the second half and from 6.6 per cent to 4.2 per cent in Fante language.

Ms Vivian Etroo announced this at an end-of-year review meeting for officials of the Municipal Directorate of Education, to account for programmes funded with grants from Education Quality for All (EQUALL), a subsidiary of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Government of Ghana (GOG) and other donor partners, at Saltpond. She said 17.1 per cent and 7.7 percent were set as the baselines indicators for English and Fante respectively.

Ms Etroo said the drop was partly because some teachers abandoned the classroom for national assignments.

She appealed to institutions which would need the services of teachers to schedule their programmes to coincide with school vacation. Ms. Etroo said programmes designed by government and donors for the teachers had not impacted positively on teaching in the schools because some teachers have remained conservative.

She said transfer of teachers in indifferent categories for example from primary to Junior High Schools was also affecting teaching. Ms Rosemond Blay, Central Regional Director of Education, expressed dissatisfaction about the standards of education in the region and urged stakeholders to collaborate efforts to reverse the trend. Mr Robert Quainoo-Arthur, Municipal Chief Executive, said a Local Government Service Bill would soon be passed to place the management of education under the assemblies.

Mr Godfrey Fummey, Representative of EQUALL, commended the directorate for prudent management of grants provided by the organization.

Rev Paa Solomon Grant-Essilfie, Headmaster of the Saltpond Methodist Senior High School, appealed to parents to provide the children with basic educational needs and not to rely on the Capitation Grant alone.

Other donor partners that supported the directorate were the Danish Fund for International Development (DFID), the United Nations Children Fund, (UNICEF), DANIDA, Plan Ghana and World Vision Ghana. Heads of schools, teachers, students, chiefs, school management committees, parent-teacher associations, heads of departments, district education oversight committees attended the review meeting.