General News of Tuesday, 3 May 2005
Source: GNA
Zabzugu, (N/R), May 3, GNA - Several schools in the Zabzugu/Tatale District are without teachers, while some are manned by one teacher and others by volunteers most of whom have no knowledge of the rudiments of the teaching profession.
Some parents are therefore being discouraged to send their children to school because of the inadequate number of professional teachers in the schools.
Mr Ivan Gam, Zabzugu/Tatale District Coordinating Director, announced this at a three-day World Vision Area Development Programme start-up Workshop in Zabzugu on Monday.
He said the Assembly was soliciting the help of its development partners to complement its efforts to address the inadequacy of teachers to enhance quality education in the area.
World Vision Ghana, in collaboration with the District Assembly organized the forum for stakeholders, including officials from the Education Directorate, Chiefs, opinion and religious leaders to discuss World Vision's development plan and its implementation in the area. The workshop also offered them the opportunity to assess their strengths and weaknesses as well as the potential challenges facing them and to come out with a sustainable development plan for the area. Mr Gam announced that the Assembly had sponsored 95 teacher trainees at the various Teacher Training Colleges so that they would come and help on completion.
He said the Assembly alone could not provide the needed resources to improve the lives of the people and therefore appealed to NGOs to support it in the areas of education, health, agriculture and water and sanitation facilities to advance the development of the District. The Coordinating Director also mentioned the lack of potable water in most communities, which had resulted in the high incidence of guinea worm cases in the area.
Mr Sam Asare, National Director of World Vision Ghana, said his organisation had recognized the value of natural and human resource potential of the District and would work towards harnessing them to enhance the development of the area.