68% of primary 6 pupils in West Gonja can’t read – Survey

A survey conducted by World Vision Ghana has revealed that only 32 percent of children who have completed primary six in the West Gonja District are able to read and write with comprehension. This abysmal performance falls below the national average of 35.3 percent which government and other development partners are collaborating to turn around. This follows an earlier survey by the Ghana Education Service (GES) which showed that 98 percent of primary two pupils in various schools in the country can neither read nor understand English or any Ghanaian language properly. World Vision Ghana’s Programme Manager in charge of West Gonja District, Paul Azeka Asia said his outfit used the Functional Literacy Tool (FLAT) to assess the performance of class six pupils who gained admission into Junior High School one. As an organization which places premium on children’s education, World Vision Ghana has procured science education teaching and learning materials worth $156.000 for onward distribution to basic schools in the West Gonja District. The items included two boxes of animal cage, 2 boxes of black construction paper, two boxes of hand lens 3x 6x, Pkg/6, three live coupon-earthworms, three packets of food coloring and three packets of petri dishes, Pkg/6. Paul Azeka Asia handed over the items to the West Gonja District Assembly on behalf of the education directorate. According to him, World Vision Ghana has since 2009 spent over $500.000 in supporting educational development particularly, at the basic level. He remarked, “as a child focused organization, World Vision has a vision of ensuring that every child attains fullness of life where they enjoy good health, educated for life, feel protected and participating in the development process and above all are morally and spiritually sound.” “Our quest to fight poverty and provide sustainable transformational development is greatly impeded by high illiteracy levels in most of the 31 districts in all 10 regions of Ghana where World Vision operates,” he lamented. Paul Azeka Asia reiterated World Vision Ghana’s onward stride to improve access and quality of basic education for approximately 2.4 million children including the most vulnerable. District Chief Executive for West Gonja, Ali Bakari Kassim, showed appreciation for World Vision Ghana’s continuous support to augment the assembly’s development agenda. He cautioned authorities of the district education directorate against any attempt to divert the donated items for their personal use. According to him, his administration has being providing counter funding to complement the efforts of development partners in improving the living conditions of all. He said the assembly will continue to allocate a large portion of its budget for the expansion of education infrastructure. The DCE implored parents to invest in their children’s education to improve the district’s human capital.

Source: citifmonline.com