Group to promote education in Northern Region
An Education Sector Working Group for the Northern Region has been inaugurated to help improve education in the area.
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The 15-member group has been tasked to identify the specific problems affecting quality education delivery in the region and find practical ways to address them.
The formation of the group follows the organisation of the Northern Regional Education Forum in Tamale about six months ago, during which challenges militating against quality education delivery in the area were identified and suggestions made on the way forward.
It was organised under the auspices of the Northern Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) and the Regional Education Directorate in collaboration with civil society organisations, such as the Complementary Basic Education Alliance (CBE), comprising the School for Life, ActionAid - Ghana, NNED and Ibis.
Regional Minister
In his inaugural address, the Northern Regional Minister, Mohammed Muniru Limuna, noted that education was an important tool for reducing poverty and improving the living standards of the less privileged in the society.
“We all know the importance of education because it is the only tool that can take us out of the poverty in this area but looking at the current standard of education in the region, all of us must be seriously worried,” the minister stated.
He further challenged stakeholders to identify specific difficulties in education delivery in their respective communities and come out with innovative solutions.
“As stakeholders and partners in education, we need to ask what specific issues need to be addressed urgently to enable us to make the right decisions and come out with policies to improve on the situation,” Alhaji Limuna added.
Challenges
In a speech read on his behalf, the Northern Regional Director of Education, Mr Paul Apanga, identified the lack of professional teachers as one of the problems affecting quality teaching and learning in the region.
He indicated that only 50 per cent of teachers in the region prepared adequately before going to teach in the classroom and said one of the ways of dealing with the challenge was through effective monitoring and evaluation.
The director also mentioned the awkward attitude of some headmasters who refused to release textbooks to their pupils and students to study for the reason that they do not want those books to be destroyed. He, therefore, directed that textbooks should be released to pupils and students regularly for their benefit.
Chairman
Members of the working group pledged to complement the efforts of the Ghana Education Service (GES) and other stakeholders to help improve on academic standards in the region.
The Chairman of the group, Mr Issha Abah, commended the various collaborators for their immense support to the education sector, and also appealed for logistical support to the group to ensure the successful execution of their mandate.