Juaso (Ash) April 27, GNA- There are 280 teaching vacancies in the basic and junior secondary schools in the Asante-Akim South District Assembly (AASDA) at the close of last academic year. The Senior Secondary Schools (SSS) had 14 teaching vacancies and 22 for non-teaching staff in the district.

Mr Michael B. Ataogye, District Co-ordinating Director who disclosed this during a review of decentralised heads of departments, chairmen and secretaries of area councils meeting at Juaso said part of the poor academic performance in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the district could be attributed to lack of teachers.

He said the assembly financially sponsored 475 students, 78 of them are teacher-trainees at various levels, 95 in tertiary institutions and 300 SSS and basic schools as well as two physically challenged with an amount of 164.4 million cedis in 2003.

Mr Ataogye said the Ministry of Education's policy that does not allow the engagement of retired qualified and experience teachers, as well as pupil teachers makes it difficult to get teachers to fill all the vacancies especially in deprived areas in the district.

He said the assembly has planned to look into the communities to find out for qualified but retired teachers who "we can employ to go back to the classrooms in deprived areas to teach, adding we are also to engage SSS leavers to fill the available vacancies.

The Director pointed out that the assembly is worried about the poor BECE results for last year, and therefore, is planning to improve teaching in the classroom.

Ms Therese Owusu Nyarko, SDA Director of Education disclosed at the People's Assembly that the results of BECE in the district in 2003 was not encouraging, adding that, three public schools at Juaso and Yaw Kwei presented 218 candidates and 129 of them failed, and those who passed could not even make the grades to be enrolled in SSS. 27 April 04