Teacher Training Institutions in the Eastern Region have resolved to admit people from deprived districts to the colleges, as a measure to fill empty classrooms in the deprived areas.
Under the arrangement people who completed Senior High Schools in those areas, especially in the Affram Plains and had aggregates between six and 24 would be admitted to the institutions and requested to go back to their respective areas to teach after completing their course.
The National President of the Conference of Principals of Training Colleges, Mr Emmanuel Kingsley Osei, announced this at a meeting with Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, Eastern Regional Minister, on Wednesday to discuss how best to solve the problems of teacher shortage in the Affram Plains.
Mr Osei indicated that, for the meantime, they were prepared to give a short but effective training to school leavers who had the capacity to teach to fill the vacant classrooms, whiles the long term measure was being instituted.
He said as producers of teachers for the basic schools, they were worried when a report carried by a national daily revealed that only three teachers were manning schools from class one through to Junior High Schools in the Afram Plains.
Mr Osei resolved to collaborate with the Regional Minister on all aspects, to ensure that people everywhere received equal educational opportunities.
Mr Ofosu-Ampofo who was delighted with the announcement said he would immediately task the District Chief Executives (DCE's) in the deprived areas to form task force to disseminate the information to their people and to assist to recruit those interested into the programme.
Describing the move by the principals as timely and proactive, the Regional Minister pledged to ensure that their offer was utilized to the fullest for the benefit of education.
He said recruiting people who had lived all their lives in the same vicinity such as Afram Plains was the best move to solve the teacher shortage problem, since it was difficult for other people to accept posting to those areas.
He urged the principals to instil discipline in their students to ensure that they performed better in the communities and hoped that with most of the training colleges in the Region being mission institutions, such objective could be achieved.
The President was accompanied by the Principals of the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) College of Education, Mr Akumfi Ameyaw, Rev E. Y Omenako, Kyebi Presby College of Education, Mr Jacob Kor, Mount Mary College of Education, Mr Francis Ampadu, Abetifi Presbyterian College of Education and Ms Grace Manubea Ansah, Presby Women's College of Education, Aburi.