The Gomoa West District Assembly in the Central Region has constructed five teachers’ quarters across the district to provide decent accommodation for teachers in those communities.
The residential quarters, which are five in number, are located at Dago, Abonko, Darmang and with the fifth one at Mankoadze yet to be completed.
According to the District Chief Executive, Mr. Bismark Baisie Nkum, the district has been hit by a high ratio of teachers refusing to accept postings into the district, while those who accept do not stay for long.
This, he explained, had adversely affected basic education in the district, with a dire consequence on public schools, as performance was declining.
In view of this peculiar challenge, the assembly, he said, decided to build teachers’ bungalows across the district to serve as additional incentive to motivate teachers to accept postings into the district.
The Chronicle is extremely glad that the Assembly has taken this giant initiative to help attract more teachers into the district, in order to improve education, which is the bedrock of the nation.
The paper is particularly happy about this laudable development because the provision of proper education by any nation starts at the basic level.
This means that all bottlenecks militating against the foundation of basic education in the district must be seen as a national concern and addressed swiftly.
Currently, the government spends huge sums of money yearly to finance the Free Senior High School initiative, which has made it possible for more Ghanaian youth to acquire secondary education.
Unlike the past where secondary education was arguably seen as the preserve for the few privileged ones, the Free SHS policy has taken out the element of cost which was the main barrier in the past.
The initiative has not just come to stay, but has also remained one of the most vibrant policies since the inception of the fourth republic, which continue to benefit thousands of Ghanaians yearly.
This notwithstanding, it is important to emphasize the point that the vibrancy of the Free SHS and its continuity depends on quality basic education, which is the precursor to the Free SHS.
The Chronicle is of this view because pupils from the basic schools across the country graduate yearly and get promoted to the Senior High Schools which is now free.
Following this, it has become imperative that every impediment that affects the effectiveness of any public basic school must be seen as impairment to the Free SHS programme.
It is in the light of this that The Chronicle supports the provision of modern day bungalows with toilet facilities, water and electricity for teachers who are major stakeholders in the provision of quality education at the basic level.
The accommodation, which comes at no cost to the beneficiary teachers, represents a clear determination and commitment by the assembly to improving education in the district.
It would be recalled that recently, a teacher in one of the public schools in the Ekumfi District in the Central Region was shot at, while he was allegedly attending to nature’s call in the bush.
This unfortunate situation where teachers in some deprived communities queue to share public places of convenient with their pupils, is predominant in many rural communities.
It is a fact that such ugly developments have the tendencies to affect the teachers’ reputation in the communities and also disturb them psychologically even before they go to teach.
It is based on this that the paper supports the vision of the Gomoa West District Assembly in their quest to provide free accommodation with basic amenities for teachers.
We, therefore, call on other Assemblies across the country to prioritise basic education and assist their various district and metro education offices to help address concerns of teachers.
The role of a well-motivated teacher in the sustenance of the Free SHS policy is very crucial and must, therefore, be seen as a shared responsibility.
