Human Resource Development and Basic Service

The analysis covers the provision of social infrastructure with respect to Education, Health, water and sanitation

Number Of School

The survey showed that there were 66 Kindergarten, 108 Primary schools, 39 Junior Secondary schools (JS.S) and 2 Senior Secondary Schools (SSS) in the district. Table 1.44 shows the present number of schools as at 2001/2002 academic year

Ghana Education Service, Nkoranza, 2001/2002 Calculated with the following assumptions

• JSS operate 1 stream for each class
• 40 students per class
• SSS operate 3 streams for each class
• 40 students per stream and 120 students per class
• 360 students per school
•  For primary schools there are 35 pupils per class and 210 pupils per school

Based on the eligible population of school -.going age, it is evident from Table 1.44 that the number of schools in existence is over and above the expected figure-. However, any discussion whether emphasis should be placed on closing down some schools or not, at least, in the short run could be determined by the participation rates and the teacher - pupil ratio in the district.

PARTICIPATION RATES

This is the proportion of the population in the school - going age (6-17 years) who are actually in school. The result from the above Table can be analyzed in two ways. The participation rates for males and females and the overall picture. The results show that the participation rate for females is higher than that of male at the Primaryand Junior Secondary School levels. 

At the primary level, the participation rate are 70 per cent and 66 per cent for females and male respectively. The situation is rather different at the Senior Secondary School level where the participation rates of 7.1 per cent and 4.5 per cent for males and females respectively is relatively low and is nothing to write home about.

Serious efforts should, therefore, be made to organize enrolment drive durbars with a view to attracting a larger percentage of all JSS leavers (both boys and girls) to enroll in the 2 Senior Secondary Schools. The overall participation rates (for both sexes) are 68 per cent, 32 per cent and 6 per cent at the
 

Teacher - Pupil Ratio

The teacher - pupil ratio is one indicator used to assess the adequacy of the number of teachers in relation to pupils. The results from Table 1.46 reveal than the teacher-pupil ratio in the district is quite favourable.

The ratio of 1:21 is relatively better, that the national average of about 1:35. The better ratio, however, means that teachers (human resource) are on the whole, underutilized in the district. This means that more children can, and should be enrolled without necessarily increasing the number of teachers. It must however, be pointed out that since the ratio is a kind of average, specific geographic areas which are characterized by poor road conditions and poor school infrastructure may need some more teachers. The teacher - pupil ratios are 1:17, 1:26, 1:15, 1:19 for Kindergarten / Nursery, Primary, JSS and SSS respectively. There is the need for a serious drive towards increased enrolment of children of all ages.

Educational Status

The educational status of the district’s population were compiled for all members of the household. The analysis showed that 40.08 per cent of the respondents, as at the time of interview had attained formal education only up to the primary school level. Another 10.5 per cent had attained secondary education, whilst only 3.97 per cent had attained tertiary education in the category of Technical / Vocational / Training College. A relatively higher proportion of respondents have not had any formal education.

The literacy rate estimated at 54 per cent is seemingly healthy as compared to the estimated 55 per cent for Ghana in 1992. This comparison puts Nkoranza South in a favourable educational status. However, viewed against the background of low participation rates, effective measures should be taken to encourage more people to pursue education.
 

PROBLEMS IN THE EDUCATIONAL SECTOR

The major problems  are summed up in the following points.

• Insufficient accommodation for teachers and office staff.
•  Lack of qualified teachers
• Numerous untrained teachers
• Lack of Funds: (a) for inservice training of pupil teachers and newly-trained teachers, (b) for  fuel to Supervisors
• Apathy on the part of community members towards education
• Poor state of schools infrastructure
• Attitude of children towards learning
• Inadequate furniture for pupils
• Inadequate funds for maintenance of official vehicles
• Office Block ’B’ needs rehabilitation
• Low level of school enrolme 
• High level of school drop-outs
  
  

PROJECTIONS FOR NUMBER OF SCHOOLS AND TEACHER REQUIREMENTS

As revealed by the demographic projection the school age population will grow significantly within the planned period 2002 -2004. This situation calls for an assessment of the demand for educational facilities and manpower,  Looking into the future, the number of primary schools and teacher requirement  are computed below. The basic assumption is that educational policies are not going to be changed drastically over the years. The results are shown in Table 1.49.

 ASSUMPTIONS

• Government policies will not change significantly
• 6 classes per school
• 6 teachers per school
• 35 pupils per class

Certain strategies such as the supply of furniture for pupils, provision of school infrastructure and support programme for needy children could be used to increase the level of enrolment to a greater extent.

THE SCHOOL SITUATION

The general overview of the school situation is seen in the following perspectives. Firstly, there are low levels of enrolment in the remote parts of the district whilst the circuit centres show high levels of enrolment.Secondly, statistics show that quite a large number of trained teachers prefer working of the circuit centres or at the  capital to working the farthest areas . 

The glaring idea is that accommodation problems coupled with lack of basic amenities in these remote areas and lack of school infrastructure make these places very unattractive to work in hence the high concentration of trained teachers in Nkoranza town and some teachers’ refusal for postings and transfers to these less endowed areas. 

Thirdly, while a large proportion of schools found around the circuit centres (about 40.8%) are in good condition, 11.1% which needs rehabilitation are situated in the far geographic places. The overall drop-out rate of male pupils is almost two times as high as the overall drop-out rate of female pupils. High drop-out rate are usually predominant in the remote areas whereas the schools in and around the circuit centres record very low or no drop-out rate at all. 

There are, however, indications of some few schools at better geographic centres recording relatively high drop-out rates. The educational sector is funded by the Government of Ghana (GOG), the District Assembly and Donor Agencies like the Department for International Development (DFID), Japan International Development Agency (JIDA), the United states Agency for International Development (USA ID), the Germany KFW, the African Development Bank (ADB), the European Union (EU), the International Development Agency (IDA.) of the World Bank and the United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UN1CEF). 

A support programme exclusively for needy or vulnerable students has been in existence since 1999. This programme is instituted with the view to helping the poor in the district to also have access to education. It has uninterruptedly ran through annually to date since its inception. Educational facilities are financed from the quarterly releases of Financial Encumbrances (F.Es.) by the Government of Ghana. 

In some cases, however. Donor Funds are used for maintenance e.g. on Official Vehicles in readiness for supervision exercises. Out of the 108 primary schools in the district 44 school buildings are in ’Goods Condition’, 52 need ’New Structures’ and 12 need ’Rehabilitation’ works. On the part of the Junior Secondary Schools, 22 out of the 39 school buildings are in ’Good Condition’, 6 need ’New Structures’ and 11 need "Rehabilitation’ works.

 Luckily, each of the 2 Senior Secondary Schools in the district has ’Good’ ’buildings. However, Busunya Secondary School may need hostel facilities. The following are the Government approved fees for the different school types. A pupil / student in the Primary as well as the JSS pays ¢3,000 a year. Fees for the SSS are in two parts:

• Boarding   Fees
• Day Fees

Whilst a total of ^633,000 is charged per Boarding student for the First Term, the Day student pays ¢239,000. In the Second Term, the fees are c’418,000 and ¢24,000 for the Boarding and Day students respectively. The fees for the Third Term are paid in the same pattern as the Second Term’s.

Formal Education
Number of Schools and Ownership

The survey showed that, Nkoranza South District has a total number of 225 schools both privately and publicly owned in the District. Out of this number, 88 are pre-schools, 90 primary schools, 42 Junior High Schools, 4 Senior High Schools and 1 Technical/Vocational schools. Distribution of the schools into quantity and ownership is presented in the table below.

From the data, it could be deduced that the total number of public schools in the District is 173 (77%) and that of the private is 52 (23%). This clearly shows that the public sector contributes more than the private sector as far as provision of formal education in the District is concerned.

The private sector on the other hand, is lagging behind with about 23%. More are involved in the private sector at the pre-school level. It however reduces as the level of education increases. This can be attributed to the fact that as level increases, the necessary facilities needed for the establishment of the higher order levels are many and expensive discouraging people from investing.

Spatial Distribution of Educational Facilities

The rapid increase in enrollment at the Primary level can be attributed to the introduction of capitation grant and school feeding policies of government. However, enrollment is seen to be dropping from Primary through Junior High School to Senior High School levels. This shows that a lot of students drop out of school after primary. Also, the enrollment level at the JHS also increased due to the introduction of the capitation grant and school feeding programme. The inference that can be drawn from the above is an increase in the human resource development of the nation as well as reduction in social vices as stealing.

The proportion of trained and untrained teachers in the District is 65.6:34.4 respectively. The improved trained and untrained teacher ratio is due to sandwich and modular training programs available to teachers.  If the trend continues, it will show corresponding school performance.

Teacher - Pupil Ratio

The teacher-pupil ratio is one indicator used to assess the adequacy of the number of teachers in relation to pupils. The teacher-ratio therefore gives an indication of the number of pupils that are supposed to be handled by one teacher. The pupil-teacher ratio from the survey is represented in the table below:

The pupil-teacher ratio in the district is 1:29, 1:35, 1:19 and 1:16 for pre-school, primary, JHS and SHS respectively. There would not be so much pressure on primary teachers since the number of pupil to handle is below the national standards. It also shows less pressure on schools as the figures are less as compared to the national figures.

The results reveal that the teacher – pupil ratio in the district is quite favorable.  The ratio of 1:29 is relatively better than the national average of about 1:40.  The better ratio, however, means that teachers (human resource) are on the whole, under development in the district.

This means that more children can, and should be enrolled without necessarily increasing the number of teachers.  It must however, be pointed out that since the ratio is a kind of average, specific geographic areas which are characterized by poor road conditions and poor school infrastructure may need some more teachers. There is the need for a serious drive towards increased enrolment of children of all ages.

School Participation Rate of the Nkoranza South District (SPR)

School participation rate is an indicator which measures the proportion of school-going age who are actually enrolled in school. The results as seen in table 1.39 indicate School Participation Rate of 60%, 51.7%, 33.4% and 15.5% for Kindergarten, Primary, Junior High and Senior High Schools respectively. The figures show drop out of school from KG level through Senior High School. 

It implies that Primary, JHS and SHS do not receive full enrolment with participation rate standing at 51.7%, and 15.5% respectively and therefore much effort needs to be in place to intensify education in the district, especially female education. The drops could be attributed to affordability issues, the craze to travel outside for greener pastures, truancy and poor school environment.

Educational Status

The literacy rate of the District is estimated to be at 47.7% as compared to that of the nation effective literacy which is 46.9% while the illiteracy level though is high at 52.3%, it is relatively low compared with the national figure (53.1%) as shown in table 1.40 below.

Female-male illiteracy rate in the District stands at 30% to 22.3% o. Though efforts are being made by government on Girl Child Education to bridge the gap, it is still wide in the District. The table 1.41 below shows the educational status of Nkoranza South District. The high literacy rate would lead to improvement in human resource. The improvement would reduce social vices such as stealing and increase productivity since most people will find themselves in decent jobs. It can also enhance participatory learning approach since parents would be able to support their children in their learning process. 

The above chart shows the educational attainment of the inhabitants in the district. The District has about 14.2% of its populace currently in school that is, ranging from kindergarten to tertiary level. Those who find themselves in the non-formal sector amount to 0.8%. This is made up of those working on farms and as apprenticeship in vocations such as hairdressing, vulganizing, seam stressing, tailoring and many more. A total of 26.2% have never been to school, with 15.1% been females showing a low participation of females in education. The data also shows that female-male ratio of educational attainment from kindergarten to SHS/Vocational/Technical stands at 33.9%:22.3 %. This again shows that more males have attained some educational level as compared to females. The gap however seems to be bridging up.

Therefore, the government campaign on girl-child education at the basic level was really flourishing in the district. However both male and females’ figures dropped at the vocational/technical level. The implication of the above is that, the pupils in the district drop out of school to engage in other activities or travel out. 

A greater proportion of the people (78.9%) in the district patronize public educational institution. This can be attributed to a number of factors. These include the capitation grant and school feeding programme introduced by the government as a way of helping build or improve the human resource of the nation which has really influenced the patronage of public education institutions.

In addition, affordability of educational facilities, proximity, availability of teaching and learning material and other (e.g. good environmental condition) were all factors which influenced the choice of educational institution being patronized in the District. The private sector patronage is moderately low at 21.1%. Though they also serve the educational needs of the district, they do not receive same amount of support for District Assembly or government. They generate own revenue to run the schools, hence payment of fees. It is therefore not affordable as compared to the public ones. Below shows the educational support received by schools in the District.

Status of the School Feeding Programme and the Capitation Grants

A total of 77.3% schools received support from the government. This support is in the form of capitation grant and the school feeding programme introduced some few years ago.  About 83.9% of the schools in the District are not benefiting from the school feeding programme. The reason had been that the programme is conditional in such a way that yet-to-benefit school must provide their own kitchen. It implies that enrolment will be effected in those schools. The school feeding programme is a pilot programme and so certain communities in the districts of Ghana were selected to undertake this programme. They want to know the viability of the project before its implementation fully. The capitation grant has however had a remarkable impact. From table 1.7 above, all the schools enjoy the grant and this has contributed to high patronage of public schools. 

School Performance

The survey conducted revealed that in 2008, the performance level was 4%, in 2009 it increased to 54% but dwindled down to 52.5% in 2010. The survey revealed that the performance of the pupil has been erratic, hopping between 40%-50%. The above findings indicate that the pupils’ performance is not encouraging. The cause of this problem could be attributed to the non-performance of the teachers and low interest of parents in their wards, education in the District. The approaches used in impacting knowledge into the pupil as well as the infrastructure level contribute to this low performance of the pupil. It is therefore a matter urgency to address these problems to ensure increase in the performance rates. Pupil in short will not have the full benefit of education if they are not able to perform.

Non-Formal Education

Nkoranza South District desires to reduce its illiteracy rate level especially among the youth can be seen from the efforts being made towards the development of the non-formal educational sub-sector. In the district, adult literacy classes are organized to help adults who did not have the opportunity to enjoy formal education to be able to read and write. A total number of 824 people have enrolled as participants. In all, there are six classes with a very high response from participants. The male to female ratio of participants is about 1:3 implying more females have enrolled than males. The table below shows the various percentages of participation/enrolment level in the District and National.

Comparing the enrolment levels in terms of male and female proportions is almost the same as that of the national. The above shows that female participation in adult literacy class takes the highest proportion in adult literacy class in the district and the nation, 74% and 75.9% respectively.

This clearly shows that the district goal on literacy classes for adult is in harmony with that of the national which indicate that the district goals are in line with the objectives of the organizing literacy classes in the country: for illiterate adult in rural areas especially for women.

Participants meet twice a day for three times in a week. In addition, classical lessons (reading and writing), numeracy, income generating activities such a soap making and pastries are also taught. These activities will broaden the knowledge base of participants and also inculcate into them the ability of being innovative in various forms of getting themselves equipped with certain skills to gain viable economic activities. In response to the sensitization programme on female education, most uneducated adult females are now enrolling into the adult literacy classes. This causes the increase.

Even though participants do not go through formal educational system, their ability to read and write will enable them understand various development theories and concepts that will help them expand their production system in the district in the long term. Their contribution to GDP therefore increases District Assembly/government revenue to pursue their development agenda. Also the non-formal education system will help participants understand and contribute to issues of national interest (national debate) effectively thereby participating in setting national development focus.

The District’s interest in encouraging non-formal education can further be witnessed through the provision of two offices in the assembly’s administrative blocks. In addition to this, there is also a container available to them to keep the books and material supplies. 

In September, 2008, the District recruited twenty facilitators with twelve males and six females. However, some of these facilitators were inactive because they did not receive full training thus a drop in their commitment. This can be attributed to low level of remuneration and inadequate of incentives. From the above assessment, it could be deduced that the number of facilitators was high initially however their recruitment level started dwindling due to lack of motivation and untimely payment of salary and allowances. 

Challenges Confronting the Literacy Classes

In spite of all the benefit associated with the adult literacy classes, it however faces some setbacks which include the following:

Uncommitted facilitators: since facilitators of the programme are not paid, commitment level is low creating lapses in the lessons taught. This setback can be overcome through the payment of allowances to facilitators by the District Assembly as a form of motivation to encourage them give off their best.

Also since most of the participants have other responsibilities to be carried out outside their literacy classes poses a great challenge to them, for instance  participants are not regular and punctual resulting in facilitators not being able to complete syllabi in due time.