Stakeholders drawn from the education sector and civil society organizations have called on Government to prioritize Public School Kindergarten Education to help arrest the decreasing standards of education in the country.

The stakeholders made up of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), District Directors and Retired Directors of Education, the Past and Present Association of Assembly Women, the Northern Network for Education Development, the Widows and Orphans Movement among others made the call at separate fora, organized by the Community Development and Advocacy Centre (CODAC) in Bolgatanga and Bongo.

The fora were aimed at sharing the 2016 Citizen Report Card Impact Survey of the Ghana Partnership for Education Grant (GPEG) Project on Public Kindergarten School education service delivery in the Bongo District in the Upper East Region which was commissioned by CODAC, a local women’s rights NGO, in partnership with the then IBIS Ghana now OXFAM -Ghana.

The survey, which was carried out in some selected public kindergartens in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region , among its findings identified that most of the schools did not have sufficient classrooms, play grounds, age- appropriate furniture, toilets, urinals and portable water.

Another major findings of the survey revealed that unlike most of the basic schools which were benefiting from the School Feeding Programme, most of the Public Kindergarten Schools were left out and this is affecting teaching and learning.

It also established that most of the Public Kindergarten Schools were learning under trees and had no improved Kindergarten ancillary facilities such as playing grounds.

The Stakeholders said Kindergarten Education is the major foundation for the proper attainment of education and noted that any government that did not pay special attention to that sector was bound to fail in national development.

Mr Michael Ayuraboya, the Deputy National Secretary of NAGRAT, attributed the falling standard of education in the country to the weak structures at the Kindergarten and the basic school level.

The stakeholders urged Government to establish more nursery schools and provide age appropriate classroom infrastructure including learning and teaching materials, play grounds and ensure that more professional and trained teachers are posted to teach in that sector .

Whilst advocating for more public nursery schools to be added to the Ghana’s School Feeding Programme to motivate more parents to send their children to school and to help improve upon the nutritional status of the children, the Stakeholders also called on the Government and the district assemblies to ensure that portable water is provided to the schools.

Mr Peter Ayinbisa, the Bongo District Chief Executive, in a speech read for him by the Local Government Inspector of the Bongo District, thanked CODAC and OXFAM-Ghana for the support.

He said the Assembly had prioritized education and mentioned enrolment of kindergarten in the District to be 7,479 with 3,818 being boys and 3,666 girls.

“It is clear that the numbers are huge and needs serious attention in the areas of teaching, conducive environment, teaching and learning materials and adequate infrastructure. The District Assembly will endeavour to support all collaborators and stakeholders in education to improve the current situation”, the DCE said.

Mr Seidu Musah Akugre, the Project Coordinator of CODAC, said the overall aim of the survey is to assess the impact of the Ghana Partnership for Education Grant (GPEG) Project on the quality of kindergarten education provision from the perspective of service users and other key community local education stakeholders.