Education Opportunities in the District Educational opportunities in the district include KG, Primary, Junior Secondary School and Senior Secondary School. There is no vocational school in the district. No tertiary education opportunities are available in the district. Students who went to pursue their education after the secondary level have to leave the district.
This could be a constraint to higher education for the people of the district. The number and types of educational opportunities in the district are shown in Table 1.19. For comparative purposes the situation in 1995 and 2002, when the First and Second Medium Term Plan of the district was prepared, had been presented in the same Table.
It is clear that over the eleven –year period 13 KGs, and 8 JSS institutions were established in the district. Only 4 primary schools wese established during the same period, and no SSS was added to the stock of 1995.
The infrastructure for primary education in the district is woefully inadequate, in terms of number and conditions of buildings. Thus district needs to increase efforts to improve the situation within the medium term. This needs to be on of the priority areas of the district. An analysis of the community needs and aspirations also indicated that the most frequently demanded item is construction of school block.
The issue of temporary structures for primary and KG needs to be handled carefully. This is because some are found in communities that are in themselves temporary in nature especially along the Sene River.
BASIC SCHOOL ENROLLMENTPrimaryEnrollment at the primary level is indicated in Table 1.20. There are a total of 12,969 pupils in the 79 primary schools in the district. The Gross Primary School Enrollment Rate is 52.6 percent for boys and 47.4 percent for girls. The rate for the various classes can be seen in Table 1.20. It can be seen that the number of pupils in class reduces as the level increases. For instance, about 29 percent of all primary school pupils are in primary 1 while only about 10 percent are in class 6.
This cannot be explained only in terms of the age distribution of the population, but by the fact that some of the pupils drop out along the line. The primary school drop out rate has been found to be 0.3 percent for boys and 1 percent for girls. This suggests that the district needs to promote girl-child education. Although, girls enrolment appreciated by 1.7%, it is still lower than that of boys. Girls enrolment increase might have been propelled by the capitation grant policy and school-feeding programme.
The enrolment rate for boys and girls vary with the levels of primary education. In general the enrolment rate for girls reduces as one goes up the ladder. For instance, at primary 1, the enrolment rate for girls is 50.9 percent, about half the pupils in class 1. However, the enrolment rate for girls at primary 6 is 43.4. This suggests that there is a problem with girl-child education in the district. Intensive promotion of girl-child education in the district will therefore be necessary.
The transition rate from primary to Junior Secondary School was found to be 68 percent. This shows that about 32 percent of pupils do not continue their education after the primary level. This can worsen the already low literacy rate in the district. The situation is perhaps due to inadequate infrastructure for Junior Secondary Education in the district. For instance, while there are 79 primary schools in the district, there are only 25 JSS establishments (less than one-third the number of primary schools).
It has been found out that the drop out rate is higher for communities that have no JSS. In the case where the pupils will have to travel a long distance to attend a JSS only the strong ones are able to make it. To improve the situation, therefore, investment in basic education in the district should focus on the JSS level.
Junior SecondaryEnrollment at the JSS level is shown in Table 1.21. There are 2,347 pupils in 25 Junior Secondary Schools in the district. The gross JSS enrolment rate is 62.1 percent for boys and 37.9 percent for girls. This shows that the enrolment rate of girls is lower at the JSS than the primary level. The enrolment rates for the various classes are shown in Table 1.21.
The Transition Rate from the JSS to the SSS was found to be 83.5 percent, recording improvement over 2002 rate of 32%. This shows that about 16.5 per cent of JSS pupils are not able to proceed to the SSS Level. This is partly due to poor examination results. For example, in 2002 BECE Examination the district scored 42.5% per cent. Out of the 25 Junior Secondary Schools in the district, 5 had 0 per cent, showing that nobody passed. This shows that the standard of education in the district is low.
StaffingThere are about 652 teachers in the district. About 37 percent are trained and 63 percent are untrained. Perhaps the quality of teachers helps to explain the poor educational standard in the district. Out of the 241 trained teachers in the district, only 13 of them, representing 5.4 percent, are females. This is a constraint to the promotion of girl-child education in the district. This is because the girls do not see enough number of female teachers as role models. Generally, trained teachers refuse posting to the district, but it is particularly so with female trained teachers.
The general excuse for refusing posting to the district has been the perceived remoteness of the district, poor access to most of the communities, and poor housing conditions in the rural areas. Table 1.22 indicates the teacher population of the district in 2006.
The teacher-pupil ratio stands at 1:35 for the primary level and 1:15 for JSS as against a national figure of 1:35 minimum and 1:40 maximum. This seems to suggest that the teachers are under utilized at the JSS level. The reality, however, is that there are inadequate number of teachers in the district. There are several instances where a whole primary school has only one (1) teacher. Table (1.23) depicts teacher pupils / students ratios.
Some communities have taken steps to get volunteers from among themselves to teach their children. For example, one has got a volunteer to teach technical subjects in their school. In return they have made a farm for him, and bought him a bicycle. Perhaps the community-based volunteer teacher system should be promoted in the district, especially where there are no teachers.
Supervision of teachers in the district is inadequate. This is due mainly to inadequate transportation facilities for Circuit Supervisors and poor (in some cases lack of) access to the rural areas.
Performance of Basic School EducationResults of Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) of the District between 1990 to 2006 show that school performance rises and fall over the years. In 2005 for instance, the district recorded 36.9% passes, which rose to 90% in 2006. Figures (1.4 and 1.5) depict trend of BECE results in the District between 1990 – 2006, and BECE results by Gender in 2000 to 2006.
From the figures, it is observed that the examination success rate favoured the boys more than the girls in the period between 2000 to 2006. This calls for more measures to bridge the gap. Promotion of girl’s education should be taken seriously in the district. Figures (1.4) and (1.5) indicate the performance of JSS Schools in Sene District from 1990 to 2006
The results of examination accounts for high dropout rate from BS 6 to JSS 1. For instance in 2006, about 16.5% of BS 6 graduates dropped from school. About 83.5% continued their education to JSS 1.
School Participation Rate The School Participation Rate (SPR) is the proportion of the population in school going age (4 – 19) who are actually in school. Table (1.24) shows the SPR for the Sene District in 2006.
It is observed that the average SPR in the district for 2006 was 66.9. The average SPR compares unfavourably with the national average of 60. The introduction of the capitation grant policy and the school feeding programme of Ghana Education Service can move up enrollment. Table 1.24 also indicates higher SPR for males and girls at all levels of education. It is also observed that there is high school drop out from Primary to Junior Secondary School and from Junior Secondary School to Senior Secondary School.
The reasons for this situation is low income levels of parents which make them unable to pay the high school fees payable in the Secondary Schools and the fact that parents depend on the labour of children between the ages 12 and 19 years (who are supposed to be in school) for their farming activities.
Secondary EducationThere are only two secondary schools in the district. These are: Kwame Danso Secondary Technical School and Kajaji Secondary School. Both are purely day schools. This makes it difficult for those who come from outside the communities in which they are located to patronize such schools, owing to accommodation problems. There is therefore the need to build more hostel facilities in order to attract students from outside Kwame Danso and Kajaji.
The subject options offered are limited. Kwame Danso Secondary Technical School is limited to Agricultural, Technical and Science subject groups. Business and General Arts are absent. Future expansion of the school will need to consider the other options.
Infrastructure and logistics are also unsatisfactory. At Kwame Danso Secondary Technical, only the Headmaster, his Assistant and three other teaching staff have accommodation in the school. The rest of the teachers have no accommodation in the school. The school has only one Pick-up vehicle. It is expected that with the implementation of the Government’s policy of establishing a model secondary school in each district, the situation at Kwame Danso Secondary Technical will improve considerably.
Problems of Education in the DistrictThe standard of education in the district is very low. This is reflected in the performance of the schools in BECE. In 2002, the district scored 42 percent. For 5 out of the 25 schools, none of the candidates presented was able to pass a subject (they scored 0 percent). The best grade for boys was aggregate 12, and only two boys obtained that. The best grade for girls was also aggregate 16, obtained by two girls. For the PTM results the district obtained 41 percent for English and 59 percent for Mathematics.
Inadequate School InfrastructureThere is generally inadequate school infrastructure in the district especially in the rural communities. This has affected teaching and learning in the district. Some of the JSS, for instance, do not have workshops.
Inadequate Teachers AccommodationMost communities in the district have no accommodation for teachers. In view of these, teachers do not accept postings to the rural communities. This has affected effective teaching in the rural areas.
Inadequate PersonnelThe number of teachers in the district is inadequate. This affects the quality of instructions as some classes have to share only one teacher. There are more untrained teachers than trained teachers in the district. This also affects the quality of teaching. One of the main causes of the problem s that many trained teachers refuse to accept postings to the district because of image problems.
Inadequate Supply of Teaching and Learning MaterialsThere is inadequate supply of teaching and learning materials to schools in the district. The supply from the Central Government is inadequate. However, due to general poverty levels in the district, parents are not able to provide the needed support for their children. For instance, many of the pupils do not have text books and exercise books.
Inadequate Supervision of Teaching and LearningSupervision of teachers by Circuit Officers is inadequate. One of the reasons is lack of logistics for field visits. The district has only two vehicles, which are not 4x4 and for that matter are not suitable for some of the roads in the district. In addition, the District Directorate has only 4 motor bikes which are not adequate.
INTERVENTIONS IN THE EDUCATIONAL SECTORInfrastructure InvestmentThe following projects are on-going under education sector in the district (in pdf.)
Skills and Enterpreneural Development for the YouthThere is no vocational training institution in the district. The district has no youth training centre. Individual youth who want to learn a trade often make their own arrangements with master craftsmen and women for apprenticeship. The most common trades are hairdressing, tailoring and dressmaking.
The District Assembly has been supporting vocational training of the youth. For instance, through the NYOC, the district has sponsored the training of 15 youths in the following:
- Carpentry and Joinery,
- General Agriculture,
- Electrical Engineering, and
- Catering.
They received training at Goaso Vocational Training Centre. It has been reported that the District Assembly wanted to sponsor some of the youth in Building and Construction, to support the construction industry in the district. However, the District could not get any qualified applicant from the district. This is due to the poor performance of the pupils at BECE. Currently, the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) is underway in the district to create jobs for a minimum of 500 youth. The programme is intended to develop their skills for employment.
For tables refer to pdf file attached.
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