A Number of non-goveramental organisations(NGOs) have instituted measures including the Complementary Education Programme (CEP) to assist children aged between 8 and 14 in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District of the Northern Region, to help them read and write in their mother tongue, as welI as the study of numeracy.
   
The NGOs include IBIS Ghana, Partners in Participatory
Development (PAPADEV) and School for Life.  

The NGOs intervention followed a  baseline survey IBIS Ghana
conducted in 2005, which revealed that 45,000 children in the district were out of school thereby compounding the high illiteracy rate in the newly created district.

In this regard, the organisations have organised week-long skills
building training workshop to equip 27 CEP facilitators in the district to offer participants new teaching methodology skills and ideas, as
well as mainstreaming HIV/AIDS in the CEP programme.  

Topics treated at the workkshop, included sharing experiences from the field, promoting class attendance, causes and effects of lateness and absenteeism from classes, motivating the facilitators and learners, story development and participatory teaching and learning.

The   Executive   Director   of PAPADEV, Mr Eddie Telley, who
opened the workshop, advised the participants to attach special
importance to the   lessons being taught them.
   
The Programme Director for IBIS  Ghana, Mr Tijani Hamza,
highlighted the teacher-learner relationship, which  he said, promoted interest in learning ’
   
He stressed that teaching should be  centred around story-telling and other child-centred teaching methodology.
   
Mr Hamza also emphasised the  importance of girl child education.
   
He announced that IBIS Ghana had  the intention to establish a
model girls junior high school and a vocational institute in the area to promote girls’ education in the Sawla and Bole Districts.

Daily Graphic