By Albert Futukpor
Tamale, Dec 14, GNA – Early Childhood Education in the North East Region has seen improvement through the Quality and Inclusive Early Childhood Education Service for All Children (QAIECE) project, funded by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
Key project achievements included nine fully furnished kindergarten blocks, water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, 3,865 set of school supplies, two boreholes, training of 54 teachers in the new kindergarten curriculum and Learning Through Play (LTP), provision of 77 LTP manuals, 3,872 calendars and 77 kindergarten curriculum.
The project also trained 120 community facilitators in the LTP methodology, village savings and loans associations sensitised on importance of early childhood development, and 25 health workers trained on LTP as well as parents during ante/post-natal sessions.
Fifty-two radio discussions were held on early childhood education, 26 School Improvement and Support Officers (SISOs) trained on effective supervision, and 20 SISOs supported to effectively monitor schools among other things.
An endline survey, which the project conducted, revealed that Northern Ghana was still facing significant challenges at the kindergarten level.
It revealed the lack of qualified teachers in the region, where out of nine schools assessed, only seven out of the 40 teachers had qualifications in early childhood education.
Dr James Natia Adam, an independent consultant, who conducted the Endline Evaluation for the QAIECE project, speaking during the close-out of the project in Tamale, touched on the effects of the shortage of trained teachers in the area.
“During the baseline survey, only two out of 28 qualified teachers were identified. That number increased to five mid-project and reached seven by the end. This highlights a significant gap in early childhood education expertise in the region,” he said.
Dr Adam acknowledged improvements in school attendance and parental engagement, following the recent infrastructure improvements through the project, implemented by Childfund Korea, Children Believe, and AG Care.
He warned that the scarcity of qualified teachers could jeopardise the future of early childhood education if nothing was done to address the situation.
Mrs Esenam Kavi De Souza, Country Director, Children Believe, said despite the progress, the region faced a severe infrastructure deficit for early childhood education.
“Northern Ghana, in general, has a huge deficit in early childhood education infrastructure. For instance, in the North East Region, where the project was implemented, there was no standard kindergarten facility prior to this initiative,” she said.
“The nine facilities we’ve constructed with funding from KOICA in partnership with Childfund Korea and AG Care are currently the only standard ones in the region.”
She said community committees had been formed to manage and maintain the new facilities, adding that the committees were trained to monitor the structures, perform basic repairs, and seek support from local government authorities for major renovations.
Mr Yidana Zakaria, North East Regional Minister, commended KOICA, Childfund Korea and Children Believe for their contributions to the region’s educational development.
He lauded the interventions and said they complemented government’s efforts at improving basic education and access to potable water in the area.
“The emergence of KOICA, Childfund Korea and Children Believe in the North East Region has amplified the needs of children and brought positive change to communities. Beyond providing classrooms, they have also drilled boreholes to ensure access to quality drinking water for students.”
He mentioned two boreholes provided at Zaaran-Tinga L/A Primary and Walewale Primary ‘B’ as examples, describing them as invaluable in advancing quality education for children.
Meanwhile, KOICA has approved Phase Two of the project, which will run for the next three years, from 2025 to 2028, to build on the successes of the Phase One.
GNA