Garu-Tempane (UE), Dec 14, GNA - Headteachers and headmasters would be trained in leadership and management skills to enable them to improve upon the administration of educational institutions.

Consequently, the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES) would partner the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and the University of Cape Coast (UCC) to undertake any such training

Mr Mahama Ayariga, a Deputy Minister of Education, announced these at an educational forum on the performance of students in the Basic Education Certification Examination in Garu in the Garu -Tempane District of the Upper East Region.

He said five years after training, work of the beneficiaries would be evaluated and those who would not be able to bring improvement, especially in the area of academic work to their respective schools, would be sanctioned and sent to the classroom.

Mr Ayariga said: “There are more resources at the community level to be mobilized to complement government’s effort at ensuring that good quality education is achieved. However, headteachers and headmasters lacked the requisite knowledge to do that. It is hoped that when they are given the training it will help them to do that”.

He said though school heads were given the necessary tools and facilities such as accommodation coupled with educational materials for school children, some schools failed to perform well.

Mr Ayariga said the Ministry and the GES were negotiating with the Ghana National Association of Teachers and the National Association of Graduate Teachers to empower school heads to enforce rules against teachers who would not live up to expectation.

He appealed to the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to expand sponsorship for teacher trainees to help address the problem of shortage of teachers to help curb the fallen standards of education.

Mr Ayariga said: “In life, basic education is the foundation. We cannot afford to toy with our basic education. If we, as Assemblies, prioritize education by investing a lot in the sector, much of our developmental problems will be solved in the near future”,.

He expressed worry about the poor BECE results in the area, and said some countries though did not have natural resources, became rich because they invested much in education.