Enyonam Afi Amafuga, Volta Regional Director of Ghana Education Service (GES), has noted that educational planning systems in districts across the region were very weak and "nonexistent" in some areas.

She said that had led to “unsatisfactory” performance in the Basic Education Certificate Examination over the years with only 32 per cent of the 32,720 candidates passing in 2017.

Speaking at the opening session of a workshop for District Officers on formulation of the Annual District Education Operational Plan (ADEOP) in Ho, the Regional Director said effective planning and execution of educational policies was needed to change the educational fortunes of the Region.

She said the workshop had come at a time when the Ministry of Education was setting into motion a new Education Strategy Plan (ESP 2018-2023) with a national focus on government’s coordinated programme of Economic and Social Development Policies (Agenda for Jobs 2017-2024).

Ms Amafuga said the ESP would also feed into Africa Union’s Agenda 2063 and the international focus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on quality education by 2030.

She called on Municipal and District Directors of Education to rise up to the task with a well-coordinated and aligned budget and a plan to serve as a guiding document.

Ms Amafuga cautioned directors who performed activities outside the ADEOP to desist from the practice whilst aligning activities of NGOs and other support agencies to fit into the ADEOP to guide expenditure, monitoring and evaluation.

Mr Maxwell Quophi Blagodzi, Deputy Regional Minister, bemoaned the low performance of the Region in the past BECEs and called for a credible operational plan to reverse the trend.

He said education was an important aspect of the economy, attracting huge national resources.

Mr Blagodzi urged players in the sector, especially in the Region, to use the scarce resource available judiciously to help get better results.