By Anthony Adongo Apubeo, GNA
Bolgatanga, Oct. 22, GNA – The Conference of Directors of Education (CODE) has called on the government to address the rural-urban disparities in the education sector as part of strategic efforts to promote quality and accessible education for all children.
To this end, the Directors suggested to the government to improve upon teacher distribution and provision of adequate support to underserved schools, especially those in the rural communities to promote quality learning outcomes.
Mr Ibrahim Mumuni, the National President of CODE, made the call on behalf of the directors in an official statement delivered at the 33rd Annual National Conference of CODE in Bolgatanga.
The conference was held on the theme: “From Policy to Classroom: District Leadership for Quality Learning Outcomes and 21st Century Skills for National Development.”
According to Mr Mumuni, rural schools continued to face teacher shortages, while inadequate incentives and accommodation challenges made it difficult to attract and retain teachers in deprived communities.
He said the full implementation of the “Teacher Dabre Policy” was necessary to address the imbalance and improve the conditions of service for teachers posted to rural areas.
The Teacher Dabre Initiative is government housing and welfare flagship programme to construct 50,000 decent housing units to provide accommodation for teachers across Ghana as part of efforts to eliminate accommodation shortages and improve retention, particularly in rural and underserved communities.
Additionally, Mr Mumuni said addressing the disparities required deliberate measures to ensure that teachers and pupils in rural communities had access to the resources and support needed to achieve quality educational outcomes.
Mr Mumuni identified inadequate textbooks, ageing vehicles for education directors and worn-out motorbikes for School Improvement Support Officers (SISOs) as challenges affecting effective supervision and the delivery of education.
He said education directors needed reliable transport to supervise schools and monitor the implementation of educational policies, particularly in districts where schools were widely dispersed.
“How do we supervise 100 plus schools without mobility? As the saying goes, you cannot monitor education by remote control,” he stressed.
He called for improved logistical support, capacity building and better welfare arrangements for education personnel to strengthen district-level education management.
Professor Smile Gavua Dzisi, the Deputy Director-General in charge of Management Services at the Ghana Education Service (GES), speaking on behalf of her Director-General, Professor Ernest Kofi Davis, said every child, irrespective of geographical location, deserved equal opportunities to develop the skills needed to succeed.
“A girl in a rural primary school like my village, Uzuta, deserves the same opportunity to think, question, and create as any child in our cities,” she said.
She stressed that equity in learning was a critical measure of educational quality, adding that talent was not limited by geography.
Professor Dzisi urged district education directors to identify learning gaps, particularly in foundational literacy and numeracy, and ensure that schools received the support needed to improve pupils’ performance.
She also called for stronger supervision, teacher mentoring and accountability to ensure that educational policies translated into improved learning outcomes.
Professor David Millar, President of the Millar Institute for Transdisciplinary and Development Studies and guest speaker at the conference, expressed concern about difficulties in paying rural teachers’ and nurses’ allowances, which were intended to encourage them to work and remain in deprived communities.
He said adequate incentives and logistical support were necessary to motivate personnel delivering essential services in underserved areas.
Professor Millar also called for greater attention to practical and technology-based education, including science, mathematics, information and communication technology, and artificial intelligence-related teaching.
He said Ghana needed to mobilise resources to prepare the education system for emerging technological changes and equip learners with relevant 21st-century skills.
The 33rd Annual National Conference brought together regional and district education directors, teacher unions and other stakeholders to discuss district leadership and measures to improve the implementation of education policies and learning outcomes nationwide.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Reporter’s email address: [email protected]