Ho, May 04, GNA - Volta Region recorded 53.1 per cent passes in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in 2006. Six out of the 15 districts in the region improved in their performance over 2005. They were Kpando, Krachi West, Nkwanta, Jasikan, Adaklu-Anyigbe and Kadjebi Districts.

These were contained in a report presented by the Volta Regional Technical Team on education at its annual review meeting held at Ho on Friday.

It said boys who obtained aggregate six to 10 in 2005 decreased by 1.3 per cent in 2006 while girls who obtained aggregate six to 10 within the same period decreased by 4.1 per cent. The report said enrolment in basic schools increased due to the introduction of the capitation grant.

It said 31.1 per cent of candidates presented for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) in the region in 2005 had aggregate six to 24.

Mr Kofi Dzamesi, Volta Regional Minister described the situation as worrying and called for concerted efforts from stakeholders in education in the region to arrest the "back sliding of the level of education in the region".

He said Government through the School Feeding Programme, Capitation Grant and Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND) provided the necessary infrastructure to improve quality of teaching and learning in schools. Mr Dzamesi was optimistic that the new education reforms would address the shortcomings in education to produce the right calibre of manpower needed for the country's development.

Mrs Olivia Sosu, Volta Regional Director of Education expressed concern about the poor performance especially in externally conducted examinations and appealed to stakeholders to renew their commitment to restore the region to its rightful position in education. Mrs Sosu called on them to play responsible roles in the implementation of the new education reforms to forestall the region's declining standards in education.

She commended teachers in the region for their hard work over the years and urged them to work harder to produce "relevant manpower" to meet expectations and needs of the country. 04 April 07