Educational stakeholders and chairpersons for the Inter Basic School Federation Reading Festival in the Nkwanta South of the Oti Region say the poor infrastructure in most schools is affecting smooth teaching and learning and students’ academic performance.
Speaking in an interview with Adom News, they said this coupled with the lack of furniture, classrooms, and other teaching and learning materials were impeding the smooth delivery of lessons, leading to poor students’ performance in national examinations.
The Nkwanta South Municipal Inter-Federation Reading Chairman Bernard Kwame Ahortor, attributed the poor performance trend among schools in the area to poor infrastructure where many of the schools are without furniture forcing students and pupils to either sit on stools or bare floor while others lie on the floor to write.
He made this known when the Nkwanta South Municipal Education Directorate in partnership with USAID for Education Learning organised Supper Spellers Readers Competition for pupils in basic schools Nkwanta South to whipped their interest in reading.
Schools in the municipality were categorized into federations which have Nkwanta East, Salifu, Breweniase Federation, Bonakye South and North Federation and Nkwanta West, Kechiebi and Tutukpene Federation.
The theme for the competition dubbed “Learn to Read, Read to Learn”.
He, therefore, appealed to government and other stakeholders to adopt and implement stringent measures to address the situation to help reverse the fallen standard of education in the municipality.
The Municipal Education Director for Nkwanta South Jonathan Korsinah acknowledged that the reading festival will boost the children’s interest in reading urging parents to also contribute their quota to reduce the fallen standard of education.
He said that it is their hope for the children to learn how to read from the beginning, hence going forward it will help address the issues of examination malpractices.
The directorate appealed to parents to take keen interest in their children’s education and provide them with their basic needs to help motivate the children to perform better.
The chairperson for Nkwanta East, Salifu and Breweniase Federation Zion Yeboah, and some contestants who won the competition with trophy and medals expressed joy for being part of the exercise and promised to do better in the subsequent reading competitions that the directorate will organize.
They also reiterated the need for government to address the infrastructure challenges and find lasting solutions to all issues affecting academic performance in the area.
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