Winneba, April 24, GNA - Six hundred and fifty-two (652) out of the 12,225 public primary schools in the country have either one teacher or no teachers.

The Department of Basic Education of the University of Education (UEW), which is to train teachers for the primary and junior secondary level of education, is not adequately resourced, equipped and therefore could only turn out teachers annually.

Rev Ebenezer Boateng-Ennimful, the head of the Department who said this at a durbar to mark the annual celebration of the Basic Education Students' Association (BESA) of the UEW, on Saturday said the department would turn out its first batch of 350 students this year.

The theme for the celebration was "Basic education, the right of every child"

Rev Boateng-Ennimful said the programme of the department is practical that required facilities including laboratories, office for staff, equipments, teaching staff, computer facilities and its own complete block.

He said that the department, which is the youngest of the UEW, needed funding to enable it play its expected role in the education reforms programme and appealed to stakeholders in education and NGOs to come to its aid.

Rev Boateng-Ennimful appealed to the government not to pay "lip service to this very important aspect of providing quality education at the basic level otherwise the promoters of the idea of FCUBE would sooner or later tell another story of unsuccessful attempt".

The President of BESA, Fred Kawalibayi, urged his colleagues not to let the numerous problems facing them to discourage them from achieving success but must continue to strive hard towards the achievement of the new education reform programme.

He called for motivation for the teachers during and after their training programme and expressed regret that some students have not been granted study leave with pay, making it very difficult to cope with academic work and payment of their fees.