The Dean, Faculty of Education of the University for Development Studies (UDS), Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Gunu has called for a conscious effort aimed at addressing the phenomenon of public schools in the north always being at the bottom of the WASSCE/BECE rankings.
He said the poor performance of students in the five regions of the North cannot be accidental or attributed to bad luck, hence the need for a strategy to addressing this challenge.
Dr. Mohammed Gunu made the call at the 2022 UDS Center for Educational Innovation and Leadership (CEIL) Northern Education Stakeholders Dialogue held in Tamale on Thursday.
The forum, offered a platform to dialogue on establishing a citizen-led barometer for tracking the progress of public schools annually and for holding public authorities accountable to their commitments towards improving education in the five regions of the North.
Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Gunu said at the BECE level, the Upper West Region in 2018 scored 49.7%, 48.3% in 2019 and a 48% score in 2020 while the Upper East Region scored 52.9% both in 2018 and 2019 and scored 48.6%in 2020.
According to the Dean, in the Northern Region, out of the 26 Senior High Schools that were presented for the final examination, 17 schools scored less than 5% and 4 schools scored 0%.
He said in 2019, 26 schools were presented for the final examination and 15 schools scored less than 5% with 1 school scoring 0%.
Dr. Mohammed Gunu also added that in 2020, 27 schools were presented for the final examination and 15 schools scored less than 5%.
This he said, translated to over 50% of schools in the Northern Region scoring less than 5%.
Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Gunu said the main objectives of the dialogue therefore, is to increase awareness on the poor learning outcomes among children in public schools in the five regions of the North.
He said it is also to identify the reasons for the poor performance of children in these schools and to profess realistic stakeholder commitments towards addressing the challenges.
The Director for Tertiary Education at the Ministry of Education Dr Yayra Dzakadzie, delivering a speech on behalf of the Education Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum outlined some institutional interventions government has put in place to revive the falling standards in education.
He mentioned the National Teachers Council (NTC), the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NACA), National Inspectorate Authority amongst others.
He said “also, government has over the past six years instituted some reforms such as reforming curriculum from objective based to standardized based” he added.
The Chief of Pishigu, Naa Alhassan Andani attributed the poor performance to the lack of concern by governments, communities, families and individuals towards the children’s education.
He appealed for ownership of education in communities. This he believes can help in addressing the challenges.
The Upper East Regional Director of Education, representing various Regional Directors in the five Northern Regions, Anne Estella Kye-eebo also appealed to the Education Ministry to give them the power to execute their duties as directors of education.
She said most often “powers from above” do not allow them to sanction teachers who misconduct themselves.
“Teachers will misbehave and when they are transferred, powers from above will ask them to stay. So how do we succeed?” She quizzed.
The Northern Education Dialogue on Low Educational Outcomes in Northern Schools is a non- partisan forum organised by the CEIL of UDS in partnership with NORSAAC and Oxfam to highlight challenges facing the education sector.
This year’s theme for the Northern Education Dialogue was: “Low Educational Outcomes in Northern Schools: The Role of Gender Transformative Education.”
Story By: Alhassan Imoro
