Aboabo Camp (C/R), May 12, GNA - Primary and junior secondary school pupils at Aboabo Camp, a deprived community in the Assin South District, on Thursday appealed to the government to give special incentive package to teachers posted to the area to motivate them to stay.

They also urged the district assembly to collaborate with the traditional authorities of the village to construct staff quarters while their parents should also support teachers posted there to help retain them.

The pupils made the appeal at a forum dubbed "officials go back to school" organized by the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC) at Aboabo Camp to climax the celebration of its global action week on the theme "every child needs a teacher". The village, 34 kilometres from Assin Fosu and in the heart of the Atandansu Forest Reserve, has bad roads that become unmotorable when it rains, was selected to expose officials to the difficulties teachers and pupils from these deprived areas go through.

The children told government and other officials including those from the Regional Directorate of Education, Regional Coordinating Council and other organizations and departments like CHRAG, NCCE and Social Welfare that the only primary school in the area has one teacher. He had to pair up the various classes when teaching while at the same time he teaches three subjects at the JSS level. The JSS that serves five other communities including Brahabebome, Jerusalem and Dwenase has only two teachers in addition to the primary teacher.

They asked how they could make good grades like their counterparts in the cities who have all the educational materials, infrastructure and teachers at their disposal even though they offer the same syllabus. The children appealed to the government as a matter of urgency to provide them with the logistics and infrastructure to help raise standards in those areas since they are ready to study to the highest level.

They appealed to the GES to post teachers to the area and ensure that they were retained.

The JSS scored ero percent in the 2004/2005 BECE. The Deputy Central Regional Minister, Nana Ato Arthur, pledged the support of the RCC to offer some form of incentives to teachers from the rural areas to encourage them to stay. Mrs. Justina Torjagbo, Regional Director of Education, urged communities to assist teachers to encourage them to stay and teach.