In an effort to boost education delivery and academic performance of pupils and students, Shai Area Progressive Union (SHAU), a civil society organisation, and the District Education Planning
Unit of the Dangme West Assembly have jointly organised a public forum on education delivery in Dodowa.
The forum, which was on the theme "Citizens participation in quality education delivery in the Dangme West District", was attended by
stakeholders of education, district authorities, concerned citizens, and the general public.
Also in attendance was CLUSA Ghana, an offshoot of the Government Accountability Improvement Trust Programme (GAITT II).
In an address delivered on her behalf, the District Director of Education, Mrs Freda Koasi, urged all stakeholders to put their efforts
together to deliver quality education, as one stakeholder alone could not accomplish it.
She advised members to stop shifting the blame and work in unity to achieve the intended objective.
The Presiding Member of the District Assembly, Mr Emmanuel Akornotey, urged inhabitants not to constantly rely on government for their development needs but rather take similar self-help initiatives to address their
socio-economic circumstances.
He said the Assembly had put in place measures to enhance general educational delivery in the District which would affect academic
performance.
A presentation by the District Education Planning Team indicated that though the district had produced the best BECE candidate in the Greater Accra Region on two occasions, the general performance of Junior High School
students was rather discouraging.
The report by the District Education Planning Team said it was sad to note that for five years running, the District had taken the last position
in the recent Greater Accra Region BECE results/performance ranking for public schools.
It added that visit reports revealed that poor performance in the BECE for the past five years was as a result of low level of citizens'
participation in education delivery.
Issues raised by participants during a question and answer session demonstrated the willingness of the people to rise to the occasion to effect a change for the better.
A concerned citizen pleaded with the assembly to enforce the existing bye-law prohibiting children from attending funerals and other social
gatherings running late into the night.
Mrs Evelyn Arthur, Executive Director of CLUSA Ghana, said the forum should not be a mere talk-shop and urged participants and stakeholders to be committed to the recommendations so as to achieve the intended goals.
She said as parents they could not afford to leave the responsibility of ensuring their children's academic development on the shoulders of district education authorities alone.
CLUSA donated 100 copies of training handbooks to help train school management committees and parent-teachers associations so that they would play their roles effectively in the management of schools.
A 12-member team was formed to follow up on issues raised by various stakeholders to ensure their implementation.