CENTRAL GONJA TAKES MEASURES TO RAISE EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS (PAGE 35, OCT 14, 2010)

THE Central Gonja District Assembly in the Northern Region has taken realistic measures to improve the quality of education at the basic level in the district.
This followed the repeated abysmal performance of its candidates in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) over the past few years.
Last year, 64 per cent of the candidates, who sat for the BECE in the district, failed to make the required grades.
In 2008, 65 per cent of the candidates failed and this has been the trend for over four years now.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Central Gonja, Mr Issifu Salifu Be-Awuribe, announced measures that had been taken to reverse the trend when he addressed the second ordinary meeting of the assembly this year at Buipe.
The measures include expanding the existing infrastructure, making available more teachers and motivating the students to improve upon their performance.
The DCE said under the Northern Region Poverty Reduction Programme (NORPREP), three-unit classroom blocks were being constructed in five communities, namely Kpejipe, Jukuku, Yala, Kokope and Chama.
Mr Be-Awuribe stated that under the District Wide Assistance Programme (DWAP), the district was putting up three-unit classroom blocks with four-unit KVIP toilets and urinals attached at three different communities. They are Kokope, Bolamposo and Galinzegu.
Mr Be-Awuribe said under the same DWAP, the Mankan and Old Buipe communities were also benefiting from three-unit classroom blocks in addition to four-unit teachers’ quarters.
As a measure of increasing the number of teachers in the district, the DCE said the assembly was considering implementing the Rural Volunteer Teaching Programme, which would bring on board at least 50 volunteer teachers to assist the professional teachers.
He said already, the district was sponsoring a number of teacher trainees who had been bonded to serve the district after graduation.
Mr Be-Awuribe said in order to encourage the students to learn hard and pass their BECE, the assembly had approved a three-year sponsorship award package for the best male and female students who qualify for senior high schools.