ANNUAL REPORT 2013

A REPORT ON EDUCATION DELIVERY IN THE SOUTH DAYI DISTRICT, PRESENTED AT THE FOURTH ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING

INTRODUCTION:

The South Dayi District Directorate continues to provide high quality education to children of school going age through facilitation of quality teaching and learning, access and participation, efficiency and effectiveness of management performance and strengthening capacity at all levels of education in the District.

NUMBER OF SCHOOLS:

There are 34 public and 22 private Primary Schools, 25 public and 9 private Junior High Schools, 3 public and 1 private Senior High Schools, One private Vocational school and One College of Education.

STAFF ESTABLISHMENT:

The staff population (comprising teaching and non-teaching), stands as follows:

ENROLMENT:

Annual School Census data of schools is collected in December with 30^th November, as the reference point. Provisional enrolment of our schools stands at:

INFRASTRUCTURE:

Comparing to most of the District/Municipalities in the Region, South Dayi is a little bit ahead in infrastructure. But facing realities on the ground, a few of our schools are still under trees; Notably of all is the New Adzokoe D.A/RC kindergarten, Avetile E.P kindergarten and Avetile Methodist kindergarten schools, just to mention a few.

PROJECTS:

During the period in focus, the Honorable Member of Parliament in collaboration with the District Education Directorate rehabilitated 3 Unit Classroom Block at Ando Tsiyinu D.A Primary School, 6 Unit Classroom Block at New Adzoekoe D.A/R.C Primary School and a 4 Unit Classroom Block at Tsatee D.A J.H.S.

There are other on-going Classroom Block Projects through the efforts of the District Assembly in collaboration with the GETFUND.

However, most of the projects have been abandoned for some time now. These include: 6 Unit Block at Tongor Adzebui D.A Primary, 6 Unit Block at Tongor Abui D.A/E.P Primary, 3 Unit Block at Dzemeni E.P J.H.S, 6 Unit Block at New Kaira D.A primary, 3 Unit Block at Dzake E.P. kindergarten, 3 Unit Block at Kaira Basic school, 3 Unit Block at Tsokpokofe D.A primary, 9 Unit Block at Kpeve Model school, 6 Unit Block at Kpeve E.P and 3 Unit Block at Peki Avetile Methodist.

We pray fervently that the Assembly will help call the contractors involved, back to site or if possible re-award the contract to more hard working contractors.

The contractor on the one-storey Office Accommodation which is a few metres away from the District Assembly is working seriously to complete the project which looks to be behind schedule.

The furniture to be used in the office has already been bought. We believe administration will move into the building by January 2014.

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS:

The government of the day continues to provide educational materials to the schools. Though we had less than what we expected, the following items were so far received and distributed to the schools: 17,968 Exercise books for primary schools, 112,242 note 1 Exercise books for Junior High Schools, 3,863 boxes of chalk and 518 boxes of crayon.

SCHOOL UNIFORMS:

No school uniform has yet been received for the 2013/14 academic year. But 300 small size uniforms that remained in stock from the previous academic year, were distributed with a few cups (also from old stock), as souvenirs for the “my first day at school” programme this year.

SCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAMME:

This timely intervention programme is still on-going in the District. Eighteen primary schools are enrolled in the programme leaving sixteen more to be enrolled. There were a few instances where meals served in some schools were not good enough. The Assembly was duly informed and corrective measures were put in place.

CAPITATION GRANT:

This intervention programme is also on-going. Even though it does not come at the right time, “it is better late than never”.

LAPTOP COMPUTERS:

The Distribution of Laptop Computers to Schools under the Government’s Basic School Computerization Project begun in 2011/2012 academic year. South Dayi District had been captured within the ten (10) Districts/Municipalities selected for the first phase of the programme in the Volta Region within that year. Kaira D.A. Basic School was the only beneficiary School in the District. Fifteen (15) Laptop Computers were allocated to them.

The second phase took off with the 2012/2013 academic year. Fourteen (14) Basic Schools were allocated with Twenty-four (24) Laptop Computers each.

The Management of the District Directorate of Education has realized that for the remaining schools in the District to also compete favourably with the beneficiary schools and other schools elsewhere in their examinations, the number of computers should be reduced a little bit from that of the beneficiary schools and be lent to other schools in communities that have not yet benefitted. In future, when those schools are also given, the current beneficiary schools will be given back whatever number of computers that had been taken from theirs.

The computers have therefore been re-allocated to cater for Twenty- two (22) schools in all Circuits in the District instead of Fourteen (14) Schools. This was done in consultation with the Regional Director of Education and the District Chief Executive duly informed about the schedule.

OFFICE EQUIPMENTS:

The Education Directorate still have a lot of challenges with office equipments. The whole Education Office can boast of only two (2) functional old desk top computers with only one small Hp Laser Jet Professional P1102 printer donated by Volta Educational Renaissance Foundation (VEReF). We pray that the Assembly and other philanthropists will come to our aid.

WORKSHOP AND CONFERENCES:

The Directorate continues to sponsor all staff for refresher courses, workshops and conferences, both externally and internally from its meager resources.

Workshops are also organized for various subject teachers and class teachers to share ideas/new concepts and to develop the old ones. Staffs from both public and private schools are involved in these staff training and update.

NATIONAL INSET PROGRAMME:

The Ghana Education Service (GES) has developed a frame work for the implementation of In-Service Education and Training (INSET) policy for basic education. The aim is to establish an institutionalized structure for Continuous Professional Development (CPD) of Basic School Teachers. South Dayi District had been recognized as one of the best performing Districts in this INSET programme nationwide. We promise to hold on to that position and try hard to improve upon it.

SUPERVISION AND MONITORING:

In order to improve upon teaching and learning at all level, the Directorate has intensified its supervision, monitoring and evaluation processes.

Aside the normal supervision done by the circuit supervisors, other officers are called sporadically and sent to any school at random to undertake unannounced supervision and monitoring of teaching and learning and any other activities of interest. Recalcitrant teachers caught in these activities are invited and sanctioned appropriately.

One major problem militating against supervision and monitoring is mobility. None of our circuit supervisors is “mobile”. This affects their movement seriously.

Request was made to the District Assembly to provide the Directorate with six (6) motorbikes to be used for monitoring but up to now, no response had been received from the Assembly. This we feel can in a way contribute to falling standards.

We are therefore using this platform to reiterate our appeal for motorbikes for our six(6) circuit supervisors to help greatly enhance Supervision and Monitoring.

GIRLS’ EDUCATION:

In the 2005/06 academic year, community facilitators in the South Dayi District were given training to enable them sensitize and mobilize parents to send their wards, especially the girls to school so as to bring about change in the life of the girl-child.

This has immensely contributed to enrolment of more girls in our schools whereby raising the District’s Gender Parity Index to average of 1:1.

A recent monitoring by the Girl Child Education Unit of the Directorate has revealed that there was an increase in teenage pregnancy. Reasons assigned to the cause of this problem include:

· Inability/Failure by parents to provide the needs of their wards

· Truancy among the girls

· Ignorance.

Strategies being considered to address this problem include:

· Re-training of Facilitators

· Re-sensitization for members in the communities.

· Involvement of SMC/PTA fully in the sensitization programme.

· The District Assembly to enact a bylaw to guide against loitering of pupils in the night.

SUPPORT FROM THE DISTRICT ASSEMBLY:

The District Assembly continues to support Education in the District at all levels in diverse ways. A few of them had been mentioned earlier.

We wish to put the following on record as part of the financial support offered by the Assembly during the period under review:

· On the 19^th March, 2012, the Assembly gave an amount of GH¢2,340.00 to support 587 candidates to pay for and write the Regional BECE Mock Exams.

· An amount of GH¢4,976.00 was also issued out on 3^rd August, 2012 to support the District team to attend and participate in the Regional Science, Technology, Mathematics and Innovation Education (STMIE) Clinic at Jasikan.

May I indicate here that STMIE clinic is a platform where our children show off the creativity in them in the area of Science, Technology, Mathematics and Innovations!

· The Directorate again received an amount of GH¢2,520.00 on 10^th July, 2013 to support the payment for Regional BECE Mock Exams for 833 candidates.

This is an indication that these supports are yearly affair.

Furthermore, some physically challenged children are supported to attend school outside the District.

BEST TEACHER/WORKER AWARD:

This award scheme was institutionalized in 1995 to motivate Teachers and other Educational workers to improve on the quality of teaching and learning in schools and in addition, create healthy competition among educational workers, especially teachers.

Unfortunately, the last time this all important event happened in South Dayi District was five(5) years ago, due to lack of sponsorship.

The neglect of this programme bothers a lot of minds and brings to mind, a few questions. Such as:

· Is it because the work of teaching and non-teaching staff in the District is not appreciated?

· What is the difference between the South Dayi District and those Districts that honour their Heroes/Heroines in similar programmes?

· South Dayi District had been the best in the Region for two(2) years now. Why don’t they recognize the efforts of those who made it happened?

These questions and many more seriously bother the mind.

It is more or less a disincentive to educational workers in the District, following the adage “a nation that does not honour its Heroes, is not worth dying for”.

This has caused the scheme to be unattractive hence no worker is interested in partaking in the competition this time.

We are again appealing to the powers that be, to do everything possible to bring the Best Teacher/Worker Award Scheme to life in the South Dayi District.

PUPILS PERFORMANCE:

There has been significant improvement in the general performance of pupils in the District. This has shown clearly in the analysis of the results obtained from the termly common exams written by the pupils. Also, a lot more of the pupils can now read well.

PERFORMANCE IN BECE:

The District successfully occupied the first position for two consecutive years according to the regional ratings for the period 2010/11 and 2011/12 academic year.

The district performance of 2013 BECE was average with overall score of 53.3%. The drastic reduction in performance according to Headteachers, was mainly attributed to continuous repetition of pupils at form two who later registered to write the BECE due to aging factor.

As a way forward, the Directorate has instituted various education driven strategies to ameliorate the situation. These measures include:

A special purpose mob-up Tutorials for all candidates in the District after the District and Regional Mock Examinations have been written. Quite connected to this, Subject Area Committee had been constituted and mandated to execute this programme in only the core subjects due to limited financial resources.

Highly determined to scale-up educational progress to enviable heights through Monitoring and Supervision, an un-announced school visits have been adequately structured to enliven teachers and headteachers and to serve as wake-up call for them to be on their toes

Further, the Directorate has instituted inter-Circuit quizzes competitions among schools in the District. These competitions are designed to enforce learning among pupils through competitions.

Finally, the introduction of School Report Card (SRC) for the 1^st and 3^rd terms is expected to get all educational stakeholders in the District actively working.

PERFORMANCE IN WASSCE:

The results of the 2013 WASSCE have shown an improvement over that of the previous years. The three Senior High Schools have scored 100% each and have an average of 76.7% of the candidates qualified to enter into tertiary institutions in Ghana.

CONCLUSION:

We shall continue to work diligently to realize our vision, to be the leading District in promoting excellent education standards that can be sustained to foster the acquisition of relevant skills and talents of learners for manpower and socioeconomic development.

Contributions of other stakeholders are seemingly diminishing as time passes by. We therefore seek the indulgence of all those who matter to impress upon themselves and other stakeholders to do better than they are doing now.

Thank you.