GOVERNMENT TO CONSTRUCT MORE SCHOOLS IN DEPRIVED AREAS

07/07/10 The Minister for Education, Hon. Alex Tettey-Enyo said today in Parliament that his Ministry is supporting district assemblies with the construction of 25 schools in deprived areas of the country.

He was answering a question posed by Hon. Benito Owusu –Bio, MP for Atwima Nwabiagya who sought to know from the Minister when a new 6-classroom block will be constructed for Gyankobaa D/A primary school, since the old structure which they are currently occupying has become a death trap.
Hon. Tettey-Enyo explained that District Assemblies have the responsibility for providing infrastructure for basic schools under their jurisdiction and, Gyankobaa D.A primary school is one.
Later, the MP for Asunafo South, Hon. George Boakye asked the Minister measures his Ministry has adopted to ensure adequate supply of qualified teachers to schools in rural areas.
Mr. Alex Tettey-Enyo responded saying, the policy of his Ministry and that of the Ghana Education Service is to deploy newly-trained teachers, first and foremost, to fill actual vacancies in deprived/underserved schools before considering other areas. This policy, he added, is circulated in a guideline to all regional and district directors of education.

The problem, he noted however, is the total number of vacancies declared annually which usually outstrip the total number of newly-trained teachers as well as teachers returning from further studies.
The Minister said steps taken to bridge the gap include the Untrained Teacher Diploma in Basic Education (UTTBDE) programme which has led to 12,000 pupil teachers being trained and working in rural communities in the Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions.
The MP for Offinso South, Hon. Ben Abdallah Banda wanted to know from the Minister, criteria used for supplying Government’s school uniforms to basic schools.

Hon. Alex Tettey-Enyo explained that Government’s programme of providing school uniforms for basic schools is targeted at deprived districts.
He noted, his Ministry, assisted by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, including the Regional Coordinating Councils and the District Assemblies identified 66 deprived Districts who subsequently have benefitted each from the supply of 2,000 pieces of uniforms.
The House also passed the District Assembly Elections (Amendment) Bill, the amendment of which was proposed to allow candidates to campaign without the structures imposed by the law. It will also enable organizations other than political parties in the districts to freely participate in the electioneering process at the district level.

Previously, the District Assembly Elections Act, 1994, (Act 473) was passed to guide the conduct of District Level Elections. Having been operated for over a decade and half however, certain provisions in the Act tend to defeat rather than promote the purpose for which it was promulgated.
Sections 3 and 6 of the Act have restricted the involvement of candidates participating in the elections by prescribing the raising and mounting of plat forms for purposes of the elections other than the Electoral Commission.
Organizations other than political parties at the sub-district level have also been banned from supporting candidates and or raising plat forms for purposes of District Level Elections.