Create conducive environment to retain children in schoool — Prof. Opoku-Amankwa
The Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Professor Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, has advised teachers and school administrators to create conducive learning atmosphere to encourage pupils to attend school.
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He said many pupils were unwilling to go to school due to some fears they attached to the school environment.
Prof. Opoku-Amankwa gave the advice when he led a team from the Ministry of Education and the GES on a tour of duty to some selected schools in Accra to mark this year’s “My first day at school”.
He explained that many children, after their first day in school, felt uneasy coming back to the learning facility because of how school authorities and teachers handled them.
“It is necessary for teachers to engage pupils in activities that will encourage them to come to school regularly. We don't want parents to be struggling to bring their children to school simply because the children fear to come to school," Prof. Opoku-Amankwa said.
He also stressed the need for teachers to be more innovative in teaching the children, especially at the creche and lower primary levels.
Some of the schools the team visited were Adjiringanor Basic School at East Legon, Ogbojo Presbyterian Basic School and Adentan Community Kindergarten.
The team interacted with the children and also presented them with biscuits, chocolates, erasers, and some learning materials.
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Adentan MCE
Speaking to the media after the tour, the Municipal Chief Executive of Adentan, Mr Daniel Alexander Nii-Noi Adumuah, said the rationale behind the exercise was to encourage parents to send their children to schools and also to encourage the children to stay in school.
He stated that school was one of the first places where children’s behaviour and future educational success were shaped and, therefore, teachers must create a warm and protective environment and at the same time be professional.
He stressed that the Adentan Municipal Assembly saw education as the backbone for national growth and for that matter the assembly as part of its responsibilities had taken keen interest in child development in all communities, especially, in the deprived areas.