Bima local authority Junior Secondary School (JSS) in the Ejura-Sekyedumase District in Ashanti Region has for two consecutive years (2001 and 2002) scored zero percent in the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE).

Mr. John Osei Frimpong, the District Director of Education, announced this during the best teacher award ceremony at Ejura last Friday.

He said out of the 793 candidates who took part in the 2002 BECE, only 380 candidates excelled in the examination, representing 48 percent pass and none of them could score aggregate six.

The director attributed the district's abysmal performance in the BECE to the deprived nature of the district, resulting in qualified teachers refusing postings to most communities in the district.

He noted that those who reluctantly accepted postings to the inaccessible areas do not deliver as expected from them.

Mr Frimpong also blamed the situation on poor supervision of teachers' performance, which, according to him, had grounded to a halt because the dwindled subvention to the district had suffered delay in release over the years.

He said the district was also contending with the problem of truancy as most of the children did not attend classes on Mondays, being market days for Ejura and were found either selling or carrying goods and foodstuff for a fee, with the excuse that they needed money to fend for themselves.

The district director equally blamed Muslim parents, the majority religious group in the district for compelling their children to abandon classes every Friday at 12 mid-day for the mosque to pray.

Mr Frimpong, however, assured the public that the district directorate of education had instituted pragmatic measures to mitigate the situation and called on parents to co-operate in this direction.

Madam Elizabeth Owusu, the District Chief Executive, urged teachers to assist their pupils to unearth their inherent potentials so that they could improve upon them in pursuance of their academic work.

Mr Christopher Addo of Bemi primary school was adjudged the best primary school teacher, while the best JSS teacher went to Mr William Yao Esikpe of Ejura Catholic School.

Mr Emmanuel Adongo of Ejura Catholic JSS emerged the best science teacher and Mr Oscar Nkrumah Marfo of Ejuraman senior secondary school had the best non-teaching staff award.