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A baseline study has revealed that most rural schools in the Yilo Krobo Municipality are unable to buy the new Ghana Education Service (GES) syllabus. The situation has affected preparation of lesson notes by the teachers in those schools. As a result most of those rural schools had consistently and consecutively recorded abysmal performance, with the Junior High Schools (JHS) obtaining zero percent in the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) for many years including 2013. Mr Samuel Obuaba, a consultant with Socioserve-Ghana, a non-governmental organisation, said this at a dissemination forum on education at Somanya. The baseline study report, which was confirmed by the Yilo Krobo Municipal Education, showed that rural schools were so poor that they could hardly generate income to enable them buy the syllabus at a cost of GH�12.00 for teachers to use. Headmasters and teachers from those basic schools at the dissemination forum appealed to authorities to offer them a flexible consideration to enable them access the syllabus to teach their pupils. The baseline study, which was conducted by Socioserve-Ghana, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), was to help improve teacher attendance in 10 selected low performing basic schools in the Yilo Krobo Municipality. It was also to enhance the capacity of Circuit Supervisors (CSs), School Management Committees (SMCs) and Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) in monitoring and supervising teacher attendance and contact hours in the selected schools. Socioserve-Ghana did the study in collaboration with Rite 90.1 FM, a radio station based in Somanya under a project dubbed �District Education Observer� with assistance from STAR Ghana. Other findings from the study showed that the teachers posted or transferred to those selected rural schools absented themselves frequently. The number of absented days of teachers in each of the 10 schools for last term alone ranged averagely between 10 to 15 days and more and the study showed poor evidence of enforcement of sanctions for persistent absenteeism. The study showed that most of the teachers felt aggrieved that they were transferred to those schools as a form of punishment. Lack of electricity, potable water and telecommunications network compelled most of the teachers to reside outside the communities where the schools are located, which in turn affect their time of reporting to the classrooms. The findings showed that teachers reported very late to schools on market days because the pupils did not report early on such days. �Most parents use their children as porters on market days and for other farming activities,� the findings revealed. It also showed that due to poor road network and access to vehicles, CSs were unable to ensure effective monitoring and supervision in the schools in the rural areas. Mr Obuaba called on community leaders to augment the government�s efforts to ensure long term planning for staff housing for teachers, especially in rural areas. He appealed to the Ministry of Education to support CSs with means of transport to aid them to ensure effective monitoring of schools in the rural areas. Mr Obuaba said �transfer systems� within the GES must be clear and separated from sanctions for misconduct �for teachers to willingly go to rural schools and teach there satisfactorily.� Mr Jonnie Addo-Fening, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FMSL Multimedia and Rite 90.1FM, said Socioserve-Ghana and his outfit would implement several programmes to achieve improved academic performance in those schools including assisting the CSs, SMCs and the PTAs. The 10 selected low performing schools in Yilo are Brukum Agavanya Municipal Authority (M/A) JHS, Ahinkwa M/A JHS, Akorwubana JHS, Samlesi M/A JHS, and Wurapong M/A JHS. The others are Akorley M/A JHS, Aboabesease R/C basic school, Sutawa Basic School, Aboa-Osuboninya RC basic school and Akapamu RC basic school. To ascertain the causes of their abysmal performance and to find remedy, the collaborating organizations undertook the baseline study on teacher attendance and supervision after which they presented the findings to education authorities at the dissemination forum.