East

Bolgatanga, Jan. 13, GNA- Education Directors in the Upper East Region on Tuesday identified three key issues affecting education in area that has to be addressed in order to improve the standard of education in the area.

The issues include, the quality of education, access and participation, which covers low enrolment and high drop out rates, and weak supervision and inefficient management.

The Directors, who held a forum in Bolgatanga to present their development plans and discuss strategies that could be taken to improve the situation of education in the region agreed that there was a wide gap between the educational standard in the region and the rest of the country.

Their plans and efforts, they said, aimed at ensuring a 100 per cent gross enrolment and make sure the children remain in school till completion.

The Regional Director of Education, Mr Ken Dabuo expressed concern at the gender disparity in access and participation in the educational system and reiterated his appeal to District Assemblies to establish Girls Education Scholarship schemes to help more girls go further in their education.

"It is nothing but education which can save us. We should therefore have as our unwavering priority the development of quality educational opportunities that will salvage our people. No sacrifice, no investment, no time should be considered too much to achieve this."

Mr. Mahami Salifu, Regional Minister, suggested that in order to stop the migration of the few teachers in the region, the Ghana Education Service should encourage the teachers to enrol in the Distance Learning programmes being run by the Universities while District Assemblies take on more applicants in their teacher - trainee sponsorship scheme.

He also asked District Education Directorates to consider adopting the Rural Education Volunteer Scheme initiated by Action Aid-Ghana to train and engage volunteers to teach in schools that lack trained teachers.