Plan Ghana builds residential complex for Sisiamang Yiti Presby teachers

Plan International Ghana has constructed a 12-unit residential complex for teachers of Sisiamang Yiti Presbyterian Primary/DA Junior High School in the Upper Manya Krobo District to alleviate chronic teacher housing shortages and boost academic performance.

The newly constructed facility is expected to improve the living conditions and job satisfaction of the teachers who have been commuting daily from Asesewa on either private motorcycles or motor taxis over a 10-kilometre unpaved road to teach.

The quarters, which include six detached washrooms and kitchens, were constructed in
response to the declining academic performance of students, which was primarily due to a lack of teacher accommodation, which caused teacher tardiness and absenteeism.

The teacher irregularity or absenteeism was also blamed on the unavailability or unreliability of an effective and efficient public transport system between Asesewa, the Upper Manya Krobo District capital, and Sisiamang Yiti, leading to substantial losses in contact hours.

During the commissioning, Mrs. Grace Adza Awude, Ghana Education Service Director for Upper Manya Krobo District, commended Plan International Ghana for the support, and said shortage of housing for teachers was a continuous challenge for the directorate.

“Due to a lack of accommodation for teachers in our communities, we realised that teachers posted in the district always want to leave for other districts that are doing well in terms of infrastructure,” she said, which often resulted in teacher deficit.

She noted that roads connecting rural communities were also in poor shape, discouraging several teachers from serving in remote areas and compelling others to commute from the district capital, Asesewa, while others quit.

Many schools lacked library facilities, she added, and pleaded with other non-governmental organisations to support the directorate with library facilities and laboratories for information and computer technology to help prepare rural school children for the digital age, which now powers national economies and community development.

While advising teachers, students, and community members of Sisiamang Yiti to maintain the teachers’ residence properly and regularly, she urged students to study diligently.

Mr. Asum Kwarteng, Acting Country Director of Plan International Ghana, said provision of the quarters aligned with Plan International’s goal, and encouraged teachers to accept postings to remote parts of Ghana where their services were most needed.

“It is Plan International Ghana’s focus to contribute towards the betterment of teaching and learning in Sisiamang Yiti and many other communities,” he said, adding that teachers should be motivated to feel comfortable serving in rural areas to be able to offer good services.

Generally, he also said the free senior high school policy was a good idea, but noted that more attention and investment should be focused on basic education, “because that’s the foundation for a good education.”

He noted that a significant amount of Ghana’s education budget was going into funding free SHS education at the cost of primary school education, and urged a rethink of the country’s education budget.

Mr. Kwarteng advised that education should be financed in a balanced way so that basic schools would also have enough funds to give good education, and that, if not basic education might fail because it wasn’t good enough.

“There is a risk that very soon, because of the poor quality at the basic schools, we might not have the right kind of education, even if it is free,” he added.

Providing historical background in an interview with the GNA, Mr. Ebenezer Kofi Oppong, head teacher of the school, said the Presbyterian Church started it in 1923 and added a middle school in 1956, which evolved into a junior high school in later years.

The school has a total of 165 students, including 106 boys and 59 girls. There are 12 teachers for pre-school, primary, and junior high, seven of whom are men and five women.

Since its establishment, the school had not received any significant government intervention to improve infrastructure, however, lately, the Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Project, funded by the World Bank, provided logistical and financial support for its activities.

Mrs. Beatrice Ayerkwor Lamptey, a community volunteer at Sisiamang Yiti, won the Plan
International Global Award in 2015 for being the finest volunteer in West Africa, which led to the construction of accommodation for teachers.

As part of the honour, the 71-year-old woman was required to develop a community initiative of her choice, and she chose living quarters for teachers.

Members of the community agreed that Mrs. Beatrice Ayerkwor Lamptey’s name should be engraved on the quarters to honour her outstanding commitment, loyalty, and hard work.