Shortage of Teachers hits Prestea Huni-Valley Public Schools, MP summons Minister to Parliament
The Member of Parliament for Prestea Huni-Valley, Hon Robert Wisdom Cudjoe has blamed the inaction of the government of President Akufo-Addo’s administration for the collapse of the quality education system in the constituency, which he said is evident in the acute shortage of public schools teachers.
According to him, over 200 public schools do not have teachers and rely on volunteer community pupil teachers to teach thousands of schools in the constituency.
Hon made this known after he summoned the Minister for Education to parliament on Wednesday, March 21, 2023.
He wanted to know from the Minster for education what effort the Ministry is doing to curb the increasing number of Community teachers recruited by parents in the affected areas.
“Mr. Speaker, I rise to ask the Minister of Education what efforts the ministry is making to curb the increasing number of Community Teachers (Teachers recruited and paid by Parents) in the rural areas in the Prestea Huni Valley Constituency?” Hon Cudjoe asked the Minister.
In response Minister for Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum said he was not aware of the situation in the Prestea Huni Valley and that he would follow up with his team to find out and address the challenges.
According to him, it is unknown and unacceptable that parents would recruit teachers and that the Ministry would investigate the matter and ensure that qualified persons are recruited to serve as teachers in the area as per the Ghana education services standard.
The Minister assured the MP the Ministry would take up the matter and recruit teachers in order to ease thetoden on parents.
But Hon Cudjoe told EXPRESSNEWSGHANA, he was disappointed with the answers provided by the Minister to the effect that he was unaware of the Teachers shortage in the Prestea Huni-Valley area.
He said, due to the absence of teachers, parents are contributing GHS20.00 each per child every month to pay teachers, a situation he added is putting the burden on the parents for cost-sharing of teachers recruitment with the government.
The MP lamented that the over 200 affected public schools in the communities have been inundated with shortage of teachers for 110 Kindergarten and Primary and Senior High Schools are without teachers, saying “in a particular school, only one teacher is manning the entire school, acting as teacher and head teacher, a situation I think the government has failed the people of Prestea Huni-Valley and for that matter the affected communities.”
He added that in some of the community public schools, four out of twelve teachers are on government paid teachers, am several of that and worse across the constituency.
This, Hon Believed Ghana would not be able to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) # 4, if the communities in the Prestea Huni-Valley still don’t have adequate teachers.
SDG #4 states “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
The MP said the schools are grossly understaffed mainly primary and kindergarten schools in the rural communities, nothing, “we need permanent teachers and the teachers the parents are paying are qualified. Some have Degrees and others have HND and diplomats, they can teach and I think the government only needs to regularize their services.”
It is appreciated that no matter the beauty of the schools, with the entire infrastructure without teachers, whatsoever is put in place in the system is cosmetic at best.
Hon Cudjoe said there is an urgent need to step up the staffing requirements in the schools and urged the Ministry to consider employing qualified teachers and regularizing the present parent-recruited teachers to minimize the situation.
Source: expressnewsghana.com
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