‘Stop use of canes in classrooms’
The Central Regional Director of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr Jocob Kor, has admonished teachers to stop or reduce the use of canes in the classroom to encourage students to go to school.
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“If we want to create a conducive atmosphere for students, we must stop or reduce the use of canes in order to make the school environment friendly to the pupils,” he said.
Mr Kor was speaking on the theme: “Creating a conducive environment for teaching and learning: A shared responsibility” during the 14th Speech and Prize-giving Day of the University of Cape Coast Basic School in Cape Coast.
He said some children gave wrong answers when they were asked questions as a result of the fear of the cane.
“It will surprise you to know that some pupils know the correct answers but will answer wrongly when they are asked questions in classrooms because of the use of canes”, he said.
The GES, in the mid-70s, issued a directive that only school heads could use the cane.
Training of pupils
Mr Kor said the training of pupils was not the sole responsibility of teachers and that parents must play their part in the upbringing of their children.
Mr Kor noted that attaining quality education was the responsibility of all stakeholders, and not the government or GES alone, and added that some parents ought to have time for their children’s education.
“It is only when all the various stakeholders identify their roles and play them as such that we would help to mould our students well to become responsible and useful citizens,” he stated.
School levies
Mr Kor expressed worry about teachers who collected unauthorised levies from students, and asked them to desist from such practices.
Speaking on the theme, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Professor D.D. Kuupole, said “providing a conducive environment for teaching and learning must take into account the requirement and expectations of all stakeholders, namely the government, employers, academic institutions, students and pupils, teachers, parents, the community and the society at large”.
Discipline
He entreated the pupils to be disciplined to enable them to achieve academic success, stressing that “As students, one thing you must crave for yourself and for your school is academic excellence. But this cannot be achieved unless you develop a culture of self-discipline”.
He, however, admonished parents to discipline their children at home to complement the training they received at school.
The Assistant Headmistress of the school, Mrs Kate Frimpong, expressed worry about the English and Mathematics teacher-student ratio in the school, and explained that the situation where a teacher was in charge of 240 students was hampering effective teaching of the two subjects, and therefore appealed to the Division of Human Resource (DHR) to bring in more national service personnel to ease the pressure.
She also expressed concern about the non-availability of library facilities in the school, saying, “It is surprising to know that a school of this calibre cannot boast of a library where pupils are motivated to cultivate reading habit”.
Mrs Frimpong commended parents, teachers, the university community and all stakeholders for their contributions towards the development of the school.
Deserving pupils and staff members were awarded.