World Vision, Bibir Curb Falling Educational Standards in Nanton

Executive Director, Bibir-Ghana

Several reasons have been cited by various stakeholders in education as the cause of the falling educational standards in basic schools in the Nanton Constituency in the Savelugu-Nanton Municipality in the Northern Region of Ghana.

The reasons are, inability or refusal by parents to pay their wards school fees, teacher absenteeism, lack of monitoring and supervision by educational authorities, lack of teachers, learning and teaching materials and among others.

This came to light at a forum of educational stakeholders including Parent Teacher Associations, School Management Committees, non-governmental organisations and students. The forum was organised by Bibir-Ghana in Nanton in the Savelugu-Nanton Municipality.

The forum was part of the implementation of a literacy and numeracy education programme by World Vision-Ghana with technical advice and support from Bibir-Ghana in some five communities in Nanton. The communities are Bulung, Kpachilo, Nantonkurugu, Kpano and Gbumgbum.

Bibir-Ghana would among other things, form reading clubs in the five communities, and also revive existing ones formed by World Vision to imbibe the culture of reading among children in the beneficiary communities.

However, the aforementioned reasons assigned to the falling educational standards by stakeholders, are not so different from what educational authorities also outlined recently at a similar forum. 

They include candidates lack of adequate understanding of simple concepts in their subject areas; incomplete coverage of syllabus; 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.

The rest are inappropriate use of instructional hours by teachers; lack of parental supervision and monitoring of children’s learning behaviour; 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.

As a result, of the 22 Junior High Schools presented by the Savelugu-Nanton Municipal Directorate of the Ghana Education Service for the 2012 Basic Education Certificate Examination, 15 schools scored below 40 percent representing 68.20 percent.

The Executive Director of Bibir-Ghana Joseph Charles Osei, said by the end of September 2014, an estimated 234 children from the five beneficiary communities would have been able to read and write as well as solve some basic arithmetic problems with ease.

World Vision ADP Manager

He said there would be a quiz competition towards the end of the programme to assess the competence of children who participated in it and those who emerge winners would be rewarded.

Area Development Programme Manager of World Vision-Ghana in the Savelugu-Nanton Municipality, Michael Kingsley Dohzie, explained that the aim of the organisation’s education project is to improve access and quality of basic education for approximately 11,000 children leading to improved learning outcomes.

He also cited improved literacy, numeracy and essential life skills in primary education leading to increased knowledge of teachers in literacy and numeracy instructional methodology and increased learning opportunities for children.