Bolgatanga, Jan. 15, GNA - Mr Mark Woyongo, Upper East Regional Minister has expressed worry about the falling standards of Education at the basic level in the region.

He said the performance of pupils at last year’s BECE had taken a nose dive and that out of the 13,688 candidates, who sat for the examination in the region, only 4,836 candidates, representing 35.3 percent, obtained between aggregates six and 30.

Mr. Woyongo made the observation at a meeting of serving and retired Directors of Education in the Upper East Region in Bolgatanga, to deliberate on pertinent issues relating to education in the region.

He said the situation was disturbing and would have an adverse consequence on pupils, who did not gain admission into Senior High Schools (SHS), adding that, such pupils may end up not having any vocational or entrepreneurial training.

He called on the Directors and other stakeholders in Education to develop strategies to improve on the performance and quality of education in the region.

“Even though there are numerous challenges inhibiting a successful education delivery in the country, such as insufficient educational infrastructure, inadequate required textbooks among others, the main factor that hinders quality educational delivery is the human factor” he stressed.

Mr Woyongo said “education transmits knowledge and values from one generation to the other for survival, maintenance and improvement of collective lives”, adding that, teachers were crucial agents of change in society and therefore must be held in high esteem.

He appealed to the retired Directors to collectively help resolve and stem the downward trend of the educational sector, reminding them that, “the greatest nations of today were not those with forestry, minerals and other natural resources, but well educated, resourceful and creative citizens, who use their ingenuity to create wealth”.

He noted that government in its efforts to enhance education delivery in the region has constructed over 150 projects, comprising dormitories, classroom blocks, assembly halls, laboratories, and intimated that the focus of the Ministry of education this year would be the provision of accommodation facilities for teachers.

The Regional Director of Education, Mr. Paul Apanga called for collaborative efforts from the retard Directors of Education to help curb the poor performances of pupils at the BECE.

“We need your ideas and experiences to support us as managers of education in the region, to provide and deliver quality education to our youth” he added.

Mr Robert Agene, a retard Educationist noted that the pupil-teacher ratio in the region was very high and called for more training of teachers to help check the falling standards of education.

He mentioned insufficient teaching and learning materials, lack of motivation for teachers and commitment on the part of teachers and pupils to the teaching and learning process as the reasons that have accounted for the low performance of pupils at the basic level in recent times.

He called for a holistic approach in tackling the situation to give a better future to the country’s future managers rather than politicizing it.