Wa, April 8, GNA - Members of the Northern Network for Education Development (NNED), a non-Governmental Organisation committed to promoting quality gender education in northern Ghana have appealed to district assemblies to sponsor more female students into Teacher Training Colleges and other institutions of higher learning. The members noted that many of the teacher trainees sponsored by district assemblies in the Upper West, Upper East and Northern Regions were male dominated to the detriment of their female counterparts. The group made the appeal at stakeholders' forum on education at Tamale.

The NNED organized the forum with sponsorship from Alliance for Change in Education (ACE) and Ibis Ghana.

The members urged the assemblies to give equal attention to female teacher trainees and support them to come out and serve as role models, especially in rural schools as well as help to reduce the high pupil-teacher ratio in schools.

The called for partnership between the district assemblies and institutions of higher learning to develop female education to the higher levels.

They suggested that district assemblies should establish district sponsorship screening committees as stipulated by the national policy on teacher sponsorship to make it more effective. District Assemblies should also take the issue of contracts with students more seriously and ensure that they strictly adhere to the stipulated terms.

The members suggested to the Ghana Education Service to post teachers directly from national level to the regions and districts to help reduce bureaucracy in the system. The Government should also consider the provision of the special needs of the female teacher trainees and allocate more resources towards their education.