CAMFED IMPLEMENTS 1 GOAL FOR ALL PROJECT IN N/R

CAMFED IMPLEMENTS 1 GOAL FOR ALL PROJECT IN N/R

By Joseph Ziem, Tamale

An educationist has advised that all teachers in Ghana should adopt interactive methods of teaching in the classroom, because it is the best way to impart or transfer knowledge into children.

Interactive learning is simply a method of acquiring or giving information through a fun and interactive manner by the use of computer and multimedia educational software. Interactive learning is a common method employed in schools today and often involves the use of computers and other tangible teaching and learning materials.

In line with the “1 goal education for all” campaign, Campaign for Female Education (Camfed) Ghana , has organised an interactive learning road show for in-school and out of school children in Wulensi, in the Nanumba South District of the Northern Region of Ghana.

The programme brought together an estimated 400 out of school children and 1500 in-school children from Kindergarten to Senior High School (SHS) in Wulensi and nearby communities in the district, including selected Camfed bursary beneficiaries from Bimbila SHS in Nanumba North District and key stakeholders to engage them in a campaign that would change the face of education in the district.

The Northern Regional Director of the Ghana Education Service (GES) who launched the “1 goal education for all” campaign programme, observed that bad teaching methods and the lack of qualified teachers to teach in the deprived areas of Ghana were major obstacles to the nation’s achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in education by the year 2015.

Madam Elisabeth De-souza implored basic school teachers to implement interactive learning method which in her estimation was a very effective medium of teaching. She urged school authorities and parents to adopt computer softwares that would enable children to learn with less difficulty and excitement.

The Executive Director of Camfed Ghana , Dolores Dickson, said the goal of the programme was to infuse excitement into the process of learning in rural communities, through participatory and hands on experience for pupils and teachers that would engage and motivate pupils to continue to stay in school and encourage out of school children to enroll in school.

She added that, it was also to improve the pedagogical or instructive skills of teachers participating in the programme to enhance teaching and learning, and bring relevant stakeholders together in a partnership that advocates and supports the needs of children, particularly girls, to enroll and complete school.

Mobile libraries and books were donated to selected schools in Nanumba South, Nanumba North, Karaga and Chereponi districts. Fifty girls were also provided with bicycles to enable them go to school early considering the long distances that they travel.

The 1 Goal for all project, is an initiative to get world leaders to commit to providing education for all children by 2015. It is run by the Global Campaign for Education and supported by many global institutions and governments including charity organizations like Camfed Ghana , footballers, celebrities and multinational corporations. On October 6, 2009, President John Evans Atta Mills joined world leaders such as South Africa President Jacob Zuma, Her Majesty Raina Al-Abdullah, Queen of Jordan, former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and FIFA President Joseph Sepp Blatter in launching the 1 Goal campaign. Presently, about 75 million children are out of school in Africa and other developing countries. About 800,000 are in Ghana , with large concentration in the Northern Region where most people spend less than one dollar a day.