The School for Life (S4L), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has graduated 40 community volunteer teachers who were trained to support teaching and learning process in two districts in the Northern region.

The volunteer teachers were attached to schools in 20 communities in the Tolon and Kumbungu districts of the Northern region to enhance the academic performance of students in the beneficiary communities.

The training, which started in August 2019 to December this year, was part of the S4L's Community Volunteer Teachers (CVTs) Programme, with funding support from the Department for International Development (DFID) through its Small Charities Challenge Fund, the Ghana Bankers Association, Book Aid International and Nyab Pisigu Lana Andani Alhassan, Chief of Pisigu Community.

It was implemented in partnership with the Teacher to Teach International, a United Kingdom (UK)-based organisation, and sought to build capacities of young people to become volunteer teachers to augment teacher-pupil ratios in the beneficiary districts.

Madam Wedad Sayibu, Programmes Director at the S4L, speaking at the ceremony, said the CVTs Programme was designed to provide inclusive learning and teaching environment for students, particularly girls, in hard to reach rural communities, out-of-school children and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).

Sharing some successes chalked so far, she said "the midline evaluation conducted barely eight months after start of the programme revealed that, out of 147, that is 70 girls and 77 boys pupils assessed, 45 per cent and 52 per cent respectively were proficient and competent in literacy as against the baseline results of 26 per cent and 47 per cent respectively".

She said the CVTs were effective at applying the basic pedagogies in teaching and learning process for improved learning outcomes, adding; "this has led to the increase in the performance of pupils and that shows the effectiveness of the programme in the promotion of quality teaching and learning".

Mr Atua Akanki Cudjoe, a Community Teacher Volunteer, who spoke on behalf of the other volunteers, said they had received professional teacher training skills through the CVTs Programme, and added that, they had improved on the educational needs of children in beneficiary communities.

Nyab Pisigu Lana Andani Alhassan, Chief of Pisigu Community, lauded the S4L and its partners for the initiative, and added that, CVTs Programme had improved on the learning outcomes of the pupils in his community.