ExPresident John Mahama administration was able to reduce teacher absenteeism from 27 per cent to seven per cent by the time it was exiting office in 2016, former Education Minister Prof Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang has said.
Speaking to Kwabena Bobie Ansah on The Citizen Show on Saturday, 13 June 2020, the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, said the Mahama administration confronted teacher absenteeism head-on when it came to light that it was one of the major factors that mitigated against strong academic performance of pupils and students.
She said even though Ghanaian children are smart, a few hurdles frustrated their progress, thus, the decision by the Mahama administration to tackle those issues.
“I’m telling you Ghanaian children are brilliant. And I’m also telling you that Ghanaian parents don’t care what they put into their children’s education whether they are rich or poor”, Prof Opoku Agyemang told Bobie Ansah, adding: “Some parents even go to the extent of selling their personal effects just to take care of their children in school”.
She noted that: “If you are able to identify all the peculiar problems confronting education in various communities and settings and fix them, the children’s performance will improve”.
“We found, for example, that teacher absenteeism was as high as 27 per cent. That study was done by UNICEF. The Mahama administration came to meet it. I panicked when I saw the 27 per cent because I was coming from the university and, so, I wondered how I would have coped with 27 per cent of my lecturers absenting themselves”, she said.
“We got so many respondents through that particular research about why the teachers weren’t going to school. One thing that stood out was the issue of supervision. It was weak. There were schools that the heads told us that no supervisor had ever been there”, she recalled.
“By the time we were leaving office, we were able to bring teacher absenteeism down from 27 per cent to seven per cent by 2016”.
Source: classfmonline.com
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Strict proof please. Any documentation ?
So what? He then cancelled teacher and nurses allowances whiles he took a huge bribe from Airbus.... and you see nothing wrong with that? Is this woman a real professor? Just asking....... No wisdom.
And yet, you couldn't provide common white chalk for the classrooms. NDC built day SHS blocks about ten kilometres from towns. How did you guys expect students to attend those schools? You also withdrew teacher trainees' allowances.
Tell us exactly what you did to reduce absenteeism because we all know GES has supervisors for every circuit.
So what? Of what benefit was that to Ghanaians? How much debt did you and Ablakwah leave? Did you think of Ghanaians so whats your problem? You reduced absenteeism from 27% to 7% and what about the economy? ***barred word*** and shameful characters ! Sometimes when they try to defend the indefensible i ask myself if indeed there are intellectuals in the ndc and i have a firm belief that intellect without wisdom is meaningless ! No wonder, a whiteman said and believe some Black Africans don't have the intellectual capabilities to get things done ! How miserable we are! and he said they forced us to learn and write their language and they find it ridiculous when we judge each other of how we can speak and write their language and the very thing they make fun of us is what some black Africans think they must be worshiped and hailed even when they fail! "Ooh GOD HELP US"