By Emmanuel Nyatsikor,
Ho, Dec. 08, GNA – Mr. Freeman Gobah, Country Director of Pencils of Promise (PoP), an educational Nongovernmental Organization has stated that only an efficient head teacher supported by a vibrant Parent Association (PA) would lead to a successful academic work in schools.
“So, if a school is not performing, the head teacher and PA should be blamed,” he asserted.
Mr Gobah stated this at a stakeholders’ engagement with head teachers and PA chairmen of its partner schools in Ho.
Mr Gobah therefore advised head teachers and PAs to work diligently with all stakeholders including teachers, School Management Committees, and opinion leaders to enable them achieve results.
He said, “after we provided infrastructure, furniture, teaching and learning materials and training of teachers, we are also interested in what goes on in the classrooms in our partnership schools.”
Mr. Raphael Bandim, Programmes Manager of PoP said they were working in 86 schools in 25 districts in Volta, Oti, and Eastern regions of the country.
He disclosed that PoP which was established in Ghana in 2012 have so far provided 119 classroom blocks, 150 toilet facilities, 145 urinals and 18,682 pieces of furniture to the beneficiary schools.
Mr. Bandim also disclosed that from 2014 to 2023, PoP also supplied 10,300 Electronic books to some of these schools adding that they would be reaching 12 new schools in 2024.
He said all these were geared towards improving learning outcomes, especially proficiency levels in literacy in basic schools.
“This will help strengthen the reading, comprehension, writing, listening and speaking skills of learners,” the Programmes Manager noted.
Mr Bandim said learners would also perform better if classrooms were led by well trained, efficient, and dedicated teachers.
He reminded the head teachers that PoP would periodically track and evaluate teacher and student performance.
Ms Margaret Mary Debre, Lead Coordinator, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) of PoP said WASH would help improve health outcomes and performance of learners in schools.
She stated that the programme also promotes nutrition, food safety, healthy eating and hygiene and advised teachers to form hygiene clubs in their schools.
Mr Edwin Asare, Learning and Evaluation Manager, PoP noted that it was only a generation that was positively empowered that would empower the world.
GNA