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The Yilo Krobo Municipal Directorate of Education, in collaboration with the traditional authorities, the municipal assembly and the municipal education oversight committee, among other stakeholders, has held an educational forum dubbed “School Status Accountability and Performance Review (SSAPR)” at Somanya, the Yilo Krobo Municipal capital, last Wednesday.
The stakeholders meeting was, among other things, to review the general status of schools in Yilo Krobo, identify gaps between the current status and the expected outcome, the implications of the state of the schools in Yilo Krobo, compared to the learning outcomes by government and other stakeholders and their impact in learning outcomes and consider how to incorporate good practices as stakeholders to improve learning outcomes.
The Yilo Krobo Municipal Director of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Rev. Peter Attah Bilson, in his opening address, said it was important to emphasise the significant role of stakeholders at the meeting if equity and access to education could be achieved in the municipality.
He explained that other stakeholders, apart from the government, had vital roles in helping schools meet their strategic goals and objectives by contributing their experience, substance and perspectives towards improving learning, adding, “There are grave challenges with learning outcomes in our schools.”
Rev. Bilson, briefing the meeting on the schools’ performance in the municipality, said most of the interventions by government and NGOs to improve learning outcomes had not impacted well, as some schools were scoring zero per cent in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
He said another major challenge confronting the education directorate of the municipality was many young people of school-going age who were working in quarries, and mango farms and riding okada and pragya at the expense of their education.
“Let me emphasise that from our surveys, many of the pupils in class three could not read to qualify them for upper primary education.
It was also discovered that girls are doing better than boys in most cases in their academic performance,” he stated.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Eric Tetteh, who listened attentively to the presentation, expressed his displeasure about the situation in the municipality, especially the three schools that scored zero in the 2022 BECE.
He announced that three schools within the municipality would benefit from new projects this year, while two other schools would see a facelift, with sponsorship from the education minister.
The Traditional Authorities also pledged to assist with land for educational infrastructure if need be.
