By Solomon Gumah
Tamale, Oct. 21, GNA – A stakeholders’ meeting has been held in Tamale, to review the performance of basic schools in the Sagnarigu Municipality of the Northern Region.
The meeting evaluated the findings of the Municipal Education Oversight Committee (MEOC), which was carried out by the School Management and Support Unit Officers in about 143 primary schools in the Municipality.
It was organised by the Sagnarigu Municipal Directorate of Education in collaboration with its implementing partner, School for Life, a Non-Governmental Organisation, and funded by the USAID Ghana Strengthening Accountability in Ghana’s Education System (SAGES) Project.
Participants included representatives of the Municipal Directorate of Education, Civil Society Organisations, community members and the Municipal Assembly.
Alhaji Andani Zakaria Abdulai, a Training Officer at the Sagnarigu Municipal Assembly, in a presentation on some of the findings, identified inadequate furniture as one major challenge, with an estimated deficit of 17,000.
He mentioned other findings such as inappropriate classrooms and lack of office space for the Municipal Education Directorate, saying, “It is unfortunate that since the establishment of the Sagnarigu Municipality in 2012, the Education Directorate still does not have a befitting office space to run its administrative duties”.
He mentioned issues of overstaffing in some schools, inadequate Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities and the encroachment on school lands by communities, and opinion leaders’ interferences as the challenges affecting smooth academic activities in the area.
Mr Abdulai said due to the challenges, the Municipality for the past two years had witnessed a sharp decline in students’ performance at the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE).
He called for a staff rationalisation approach to tackle overstaffing in the schools, intermittent supply of fuel for monitoring and supervision of schools and the provision of infrastructure to enhance positive learning outcomes in the Municipality.
Mr Stephen Mensah, the Sagnarigu Municipal Director of Social Welfare, commended USAID SAGES and School for Life for the support and called for support for persons with disabilities by providing the necessary infrastructure to promote inclusive education in the area.
Participants called for more partnership and investment in the education sector in the Municipality for improved learning outcomes.
GNA