The District Director of Education in charge of the Talensi-Nabdam District in the Upper East Region, Mr Francis
Ayaaba has expressed fears that Government's intentions to make ICT Teaching in Schools would become a fiasco if parents and School
Management Committees (SMCs) were made to pay electricity bills as proposed.
The Director stated this at the weekend at the Third Talensi-Nabdam District Teachers Day at Kongo in the District.
He explained that it would be very difficult especially for schools in the deprived areas to foot electricity bills for school children and teachers to study ICT.
He said currently many parents found it very difficult to contribute to the PTA for school development projects let alone to talk about footing bills
for electricity and appealed to the Government to rescind its decision by absorbing the electricity bill to pave the way for teachers and school children to learn the ICT.
The Director explained that ICT education was very paramount to every endeavour and said anybody who did not acquire basic ICT education was more or less an illiterate.
Mr Ayaaba entreated the Teachers to strive hard to acquire ICT knowledge to pave the way for their own development and the children they taught.
He appealed to the District Assembly to expand the educational infrastructure in the District since there had been an increase in enrolment stressing that "there are not enough classrooms in the area to accommodate the increased enrolment in the District".
He indicated that there were many schools in the area that had school children studying under tress without furniture and others lying on their stomach to learn and study. This he noted did not facilitate teaching and learning.
He indicated that some of the school buildings that were affected by the floods in 2007-2008 and were awarded to contractors for rehabilitation
had not yet been completed hence making it difficult for school children to get classrooms to study.
He said there were a number of kindergartens in the District which did not have decent classrooms adding that the District Directorate of Education did not have office accommodation.
He said the Directorate was housed in one of the classrooms where teaching and learning was supposed to have been going on and called on the District Assembly to intensify its efforts in providing educational infrastructure for the District to help to improve education in the area.
He commended the teachers for accepting postings to the rural parts of the District and urged them to intensify their commitment to work.