While some communities molest and threaten the lives of teachers for mass failures of their children in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), the Est Gonja District of the Northern Region adopted a more pragmatic approach to ascertain why 68% of candidates in the district failed in the 2011 BECE.
A three-member committee set up by the District Chief Executive, Mr. Mutakilu Adam, found out that record dance attendance by pupils in the district was the main reason.
In an interview with The Finder, Mr. Adam said there used to be a record dance in the district almost every day of the week and basic school pupils were the main participants of the activity. He mentioned that a meeting with parents, school authorities and traditional leaders in the district resulted in the institution of very strict measures in order to forestall the poor performance of students in the district, especially those at the basic level.
He said the number of record dance had been reduced to twice a week and students were strictly prohibited from attending.
�We have set up a watchdog committee to ensure that no student attends the record dance,� he said. According to him, the district assembly was also funding a compulsory weekend extra classes for all final year BECE candidates.
Mr. Mutakilu Adam said the assembly had also extended electricity to some schools in the districts to enable the pupils to study at night. He said evening studies had been made compulsory and the watchdog committee was tasked to ensure that pupils did not take advantage of the situation to indulge in immoral behaviours.
�Everybody is supposed to get home 45 minutes after the close of evening classes,� he said. The DCE said sensitization programmes had been carried out on radio about the assembly�s interventions, noting that he was happy about the level of cooperation the assembly had received from parents and other stakeholders of education in the district.
The approach adopted by the West Gonja District Assembly sharply contradicts the molestation and threats some communities have meted out to teachers and school authorities for the poor performance of their wards. The National Association of Teachers (GNAT) recently threatened to withdraw its services from communities that mistreated its members. The reaction of GNAT was in connection with the attitude of two communities in the Dangme West District of the Greater Accra Region.
In January this year, some members of the Duffor community assaulted the head teacher and some teachers of the only school in the community for poor performance of candidates in the BECE, blaming them for the mass failure of pupils in the community. Two months later, teachers of Agbekotsekope Methodist Basic School were also reported to have fled for their lives, following threats by members if the community to molest the head teacher of the school for the same reason.
At a press conference in Accra, the General Secretary of GNAT, Mrs. Irene Duncan Adanusa, said quality education �takes more than the teacher. It takes the collective effort of all stakeholders in the education enterprise.�
Mr. Mutakilu Adam, the DCE of West Gonja District, shares in this view.
He told The Finder that the assembly was of the belief that if the poor standard of education could improve, then it required the collective effort of all.
He said The Finder that the assembly was of the belief that if the poor standard of education could improve, then it required the collective effort of all.
He said the assembly had also impressed on the district Directorate of Education to step up its monitoring activities and bring to book head teachers who failed to implement the decisions taken to enhance the performance of students.
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