I Will Find Solutions To Falling Standards of Education In North Tongu - DCE Assures

The District Chief Executive (DCE) of the North Tongu District Assembly in the Volta Region, Mr Divine Osborn Kwadwo Fenu, has indicated his firm readiness to offer solutions to the myriad of challenges facing education in the district.

His resolve is to ensure that teachers are motivated well enough to provide quality education to students in the schools of North Tongu and he believes this will help to arrest falling standards of education within basic, primary and secondary schools in North Tongu.

According to Mr Fenu who is a teacher by profession, teacher motivation ranks very high on his agenda to improve education in the district and so he intends to get the buy-in of all concerned, especially the chiefs, religious leaders,  stakeholders in the educational sector and opinion leaders in the district, to drive the agenda.

The vibrant DCE gave the assurance when he inaugurated a 13 Member Board of Governors for the Aveyime Senior High School (SHS) in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region.

The Board is comprised of representatives from the District Assembly, Old Students, The Education Directorate, Traditional Council and PTA members.

Inaugurating the Board, Mr Fenu indicated that to enable the Board to work effectively, the Ghana Education Service has approved guidelines provided by the Ministry of Education in the form of a constitution for the Board Members to operate within.

The new board is reconstituted under the Educational Act of 1961 to control and advise the management of schools to perform their duties effectively.

He noted that the composition of the Board carefully considered the concept of community and stakeholder participation in the management of educational institutions, adding that activities of the school cannot be divorced from the community whose interest the school serves also. He urged the members of the newly inaugurated board to bring their experiences to bear in enriching the decision making and management of the school.

The DCE acknowledged the invaluable contributions of the outgoing governing board members to the growth and development of the Aveyine Battor Secondary Technical school, which is actually his Alma matter. 

"But for their hard work and commitment, the numerous successes chalked by the Aveyine Senior High School may not have been possible".

"Mr Chairman, managing school systems is quite complex and requires a combination of different leadership styles and skills, in order to achieve desired results" Mr Fenu, noted!

The DCE charged that the New Board work in collaboration with the headmaster of the school in order to ensure that the school has all the resources it needs to achieve excellence.

The Honourable DCE expressed the hope that the board would deliver on its mandate, including developing a mission statement for the school, adopting a code of conduct for students to regulate their behaviour in the school environment and support the headmaster, teachers and other staff of the school in the performance of their professional duties. 

Mr Fenu highlighted some causes of misunderstandings between governing boards and managers of institutions and so, he urged a proper appreciation of the roles each play in the management of the school system. 

"It should be clear the specific roles that are expected of the school governing board. Your role is to look at the broad strategic direction for the school, while the school managers are responsible for the day to day running and administration of the school. I would therefore entreat, that the governing board and the managers of the Aveyime Senior High School, work hand-in-hand to consolidate the gains chalked by the school", he reiterated.

On the commitment of the government, Mr Fenu noted that education of the nation’s workforce continues to remain a priority for the Government of Nana Addo-Dankwa Akuffo-Addo.

This, according to him, explains why the government continues to invest heavily in the Free Senior High School policy/programme. 

Furthermore, school infrastructure is being expanded, and ICT facilities are also being provided for Senior High Schools across the country to keep students abreast with the changing pace of technology. 

On his part as the head of the North Tongu District Assembly,  Mr Fenu made the following commitments: "As an Assembly, we would continue to collaborate with all relevant stakeholders in the education sector to ensure that Aveyime Senior High School receives its fair share of the national cake to enable it to provide quality education for its students.

"I, therefore, entreat the new governing board to liaise with the North Tongu District Education Oversight Committee to bring their attention to the challenges confronting the school for redress," he further assured.

To the students, the DCE advised them to concentrate on their studies especially the final year students and also adhere to the necessary COVID-19 safety protocols to help prevent the spread of the virus.

Freeman Koryekpor Awlesu, Back From Aveyime Volta Region