Poor Performance Of Schools In Savelugu-Nanton Municipality

Stakeholders in the educational sector in the Savelugu-Nanton Municipality of the Northern Region of Ghana, have been urged to play their supervisory role effectively in order to reverse the growing trend of low enrolment and retention of pupils and poor performance of schools in the area.

According to a report by the Ghana Education Service (GES) in the Municipality, 22 Junior High Schools were presented for the 2012 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and out of that figure, 15 schools scored below 40 percent representing 68.20 percent of the overall figure.

Some of the underlying causes attributed to the poor performance of the schools included candidates lack of adequate understanding of simple concepts in their subject areas; incomplete coverage of syllabus/loss of contact hours; weak foundation at the primary level; poor attitude of teachers towards work; lack of standardized mode of assessment to track schools performances and high level of truancy among BECE candidates after registration.

Others were inappropriate use of instructional hours by teachers; lack of parental supervision and monitoring of children’s learning behavior; negative peer influence; inadequate or poor supervision of schools by GES officials as well as mass promotion of pupils to the next class at the end of academic years.

Speaking at a sensitization workshop organized by Bibir Ghana in Savelugu, the Director of Human Resource Management at the GES Chief Mahama Abubakari, also cited frequent teacher absenteeism/lateness to school; loss of professional ethics including poor teacher-parent-community relations; non-preparation of scheme work/lesson plans; and non-observation of schools performance and appraisal meetings, among others as contributory factors for poor performance of schools in the area.

Participants at workshop

Chief Mahama stated that until it became compulsory for parents to enroll their wards in school and also took care of their learning materials and uniforms whilst government and its stakeholders such as PTAs, SMCs and GES ensured enrolment levels were improved and sustained, logistics supplied and teachers performance assessed and monitored regularly, schools would continue to record poor performances every year.

He charged PTAs and SMCs to own schools in their localities and monitor the attendance of pupils likewise teachers to ensure that everybody was performing their roles effectively. Adding, he emphasised that teachers who have been provided with accommodation in their schools should try and stay there instead living in town and commuting everyday to and fro school.    

Under the theme: “Supporting Basic Education In Communities of Northern Ghana; The Role of Stakeholders”, the workshop brought together Parent Teacher Associations, School Management Committees and Teachers of some ten selected basic schools in the Savelugu-Nanton Municipality whose academic performances in recent years appeared to be dwindling. 

It was aimed at building the capacities of these stakeholders on how to identify some of the negative factors confronting quality education delivery in their various communities and schools and find lasting solutions to those challenges. By this, participants were encouraged to play effective collaborative roles by ensuring that community members including parents and chiefs monitor the work of teachers by visiting schools and give them support as and when it was necessary while teachers too, could visit homes of pupils who do not turn up for school.

The workshop which was part of the implementation of a project by Bibir dubbed “Supporting Basic Education in The Communities of Northern Ghana” with funding from Intervida, would also provide beneficiary schools with learning materials.

According to the Executive Director of Bibir, Joseph Charles Osei, in-service training would also be organized for teachers who teach core mathematics, English and Integrated Science.

About 260 pupils, he said, would be registered under the National Health Insurance Scheme whilst those whose card had expired would have theirs renewed. “In addition to this, we’ll donate bursaries such as sandals, exercise books, school bags and other learning materials to pupils of the various schools”, he disclosed.

Mr. Osei observed that if stakeholders shirked their responsibilities, there would be continuous poor performance of schools in the Northern sector and charged them to live up to expectation.

Group picture after workshop

About Bibir-Ghana

Bibir-Ghana, a local NGO based in Tamale has its operational areas in the Tamale Metropolitan and Tolon/Kumbungu Districts. Established in 2005, the organization works with mainly women and children in deprived communities. The emphasis is on giving children a good environment and health to enable them gain access to formal education so as to be the motor of change in society. It is because of its support for children that a local name “BIBIR” which literally means children in Dagaare, was chosen to enable many people understand what the organization stand for. Since children can either be direct beneficiaries through the distribution of school materials, they can also be indirect beneficiaries through the empowerment of their mothers. Once the women are empowered, the children's education can be sustained.