Mr. Mustapha Sanah, Executive Chairman of Northern Ghana AID (NOGAID), an NGO, has described the current state of education in Tamale Metropolis as appalling and called for an emergency conference to discuss the situation.

Since 2004, the Metropolis had recorded diminished performance in the Basic Education Certificate Examination.

In 2004, Tamale ranked 60th out of 134 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, 69th in 2005, 88th in 2006 and 91th in 2007

The Metropolis was at the 89th position in 2008, 98th in 2009 and 103th in 2010.

“The implication of this outcome is that we are having no future for these children since education plays a critical role in poverty eradication," Mr Sanah said.

Mr. Sanah expressed the sentiment at a ceremony in Tamale where the NGO donated teaching and learning materials to beneficiaries of the organisation’s Millennium Girl-Child Education Development Support Project.

The project which runs in Tamale and Tolon districts engages about 1,350 disadvantaged girls who are provided with support to ensure that they sustain their education beyond Junior High and Senior High Schools.

The support, which is in the form of extra tuition in Mathematics, English, Science and ICT, as well as provision of teaching and learning materials is being supported by STAR Ghana with funding from DANIDA, EU, USAID and DFID.

Mr. Sanah said, NOAGID considered investment in girl-child education as critical pillar towards poverty alleviation.

“We (NOGAID) view this project as imperative taking into cognisance the need to overcome the abysmal performance.

Naa Mohammed Alhassan Dawuni, Tamale Chief, advised the project beneficiaries to use the opportunity offered them to improve the image of Tamale by passing their examinations.

He said the lack of commitment by some teachers to their job was the bane of educational pursuit in the Metropolis.

Naa Dawuni supported the call for an emergency conference of stakeholders to ensure the reversal of poor educational standards in the area.

Alhaji Saani Abdul-Raham, Metropolitan Director of Education, commended NOGAID for provoking the discussion on poor educational standards.

He called on stakeholders to work together to formulate workable solution to arrest the declining standard of education in Tamale.**