A four-day workshop on the reconstitution of School Management Committee (SMC) to improving learning outcome has ended in the Birim Central Municipality.

The training programme, supported by the Japanese International Corporation Agency (JICA), was rolled out for School Improvement Support Officers (SISOs) and headteachers of basic schools from four circuits - A, B, C, and D, in the Birim Central Municipality of the Eastern Region.

Beneficiaries of the training workshop are expected to cascade the model that was taught during the session to other headteachers in the circuits.

Mr Benjamin Cudjoe, Birim Central Municipal Director of Ghana Education Service (GES), said the workshop on reconstitution of SMC in basic schools, aimed at improving community participation in the running of the schools for excellent performance.

He noted that though the committee was in existence, members were not democratically elected and there was apparent laxity in their operational duties, which necessitated kick-starting the process to reconstitute it.

He explained that the committee constituted 10 members and included three key positions, comprising the chairman, vice-chairman and financial secretary, which required an election to fill.

Mr Farncis Agyare, Community Participation Coordinator, GES in Birim Central Municipality, said participants were taken through basic accounting processes to ensure transparency prevailed in the use of funds made available to SMCs by government, community or Non-Governmental Organisations.

Mr Felix Kofi Amegah, Acting Municipal Training Officer of GES, took trainees through topics like key elements that constitute the formation of School Management Committee, democratic election, monitoring, and framework.

Mr Kohei Nakayama, Deputy Chief Advisor, Community Participation for Sustainable Schools (ComPaSS) Project, JICA, told the Ghana News Agency that the project was for improving learning outcomes.

He said it was a four-year pilot programme spanning from 2020-2024 which was being undertaken in three regions of Ghana, namely; Eastern, Oti, and Volta Regions.

JICA is the Japanese government agency mandated to implement technical cooperation.

Mr Owiredu Addo, Municipal Deputy Director of GES in charge of Supervising and Monitoring, said if the purpose of the workshop was well implemented, learning outcomes would improve because it encompassed community participation and teachers.