He said PE was part of the country's education system, but was only funded from the Capitation Grant, which was woefully inadequate to support sports studies in the schools, especially in the Upper West Region.

Alhaji Muazu told the Ghana News Agency in Wa after a forum jointly organised by the Upper West Regional Directorate of the Ghana Education Service and the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council.

The forum was on the theme: "Education, Everybody's Business", and brought together stakeholders in the education sector to discuss effective ways of improving academic performance in the region.

He said PE studies in the region had been bedevilled with challenges including inadequate PE teachers and logistics such as sports kits, which adversely affected teaching of the subject.

Alhaji Muazu identified the St. Francis Assisi Girls SHS, Lassia Tuolu, Queen of Peace, St Augustine's and Ullo SHSs as some Senior High Schools, which did not have PE teachers.

He, however, said in spite of the challenges, students' performance in sports in the region had improved over the years.

Available records show that in 2016 the region won four trophies in the national sports festivals, two trophies in 2017 and one trophy and one medal in 2018.

The region also won two trophies and a medal during the 2019 national sports festival in Bolgatanga, and was currently the national champion in male soccer.

The PE Co-ordinator also appealed to government to support young men and women at the tertiary level who had interest in specialising in PE to augment PE teachers in the country.

Alhaji Muazu lamented that PE teachers hardly got study leave to improve on their skills and knowledge in the subject, which was a disincentive to many young people who might have interest in becoming PE teachers. 

He observed that in 2018 for instance, no PE teacher in the Upper West Region was granted study leave, but through an intervention, eight teachers in the region had been granted study leave to further their education in PE.

While encouraging cooperate organisations and benevolent individuals to support activities in the region, Alhaji Muazu urged the media to portray a positive picture of sports in the region to the outside world rather than focusing on the negatives.

Alhaji Muazu said teaching of PE in private schools in the region was poor and encouraged managers of private schools to liaise with his unit to organise refresher training for PE teachers in their schools and to guide them in their sporting activities.