Out of 400 pupils who took part in the 2009 BECE in the Chereponi District, only 33 of them had placement into Senior High Schools, due to abysmal performance in the district this year.   

The District Chief Executive (DCE), Alhaji Issah Seidu Abah, who
announced this during the second ordinary sitting of the Assembly said the downward trend, needed to be addressed to ensure that the only Senior High School in the district was not closed down due to inadequate students for admission.   

He said though children in the district had been performing poorly,
this year had witnessed the worse performance saying, "If strategies
are not adopted to address the problem the only Senior High School,
which had attained boarding status would not be able to make the
required admissions and may be compelled to close down".   

Alhaji Abah blamed the abysmal performance on the dismal classroom situation and a recent rainstorm that that ripped off the roofs of about 40 classrooms and displaced the children who never had effective classes before their examinations.   

He said about GH¢130,000 was needed to re-roof the school buildings and called on donor partners, NGOs and the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to intervene to renovate them to ensure that education was improved in the district.   

He said the district was collaborating with CAMFED, an NGO
operating in the Northern Region to employ some pupil teachers to
augment the numbers, while the assembly also sponsor some students into training colleges, bond them to stay and teach in the district after completion.   

Alhaji Abah also decried the low revenue mobilisation in the district saying, "From January to date only an amount of GH¢8,147.52
has been collected out of a target of about GH¢27,930.00 representing 30 per cent.   

He appealed to Assembly Members and revenue collectors to
strategise ways of revenue mobilisation, to ensure the effective
development planning for the district.   

On the trial 2010 Population and Housing Census (PHC), which
Chereponi is involved in, Alhaji Abah advised Assembly Members to get their electorate well educated on the exercise to ensure that everyone was counted in both the trial census and the main one next year.   

Mr. Emmanuel Kandoh, Presiding Member (PM) of the Assembly stressed the need for peace and tranquillity in the area to pave way for development and to address the poverty levels of the people.   

He said it was necessary to show respect and cherish political and
ethnic diversity especially during festive occasions and stressed that
chiefs and opinion leaders should always be consulted for their wisdom to solve conflicts when they occur.

GNA/DS