2,000 Volunteer-Teachers To The Rescue

Two thousand volunteer teachers have been recruited by the Western Regional Secretariat of the National Service Scheme (NSS) for deprived first cycle schools in the region. The schools, in the remotest parts of the region, were closed down last academic year due to lack of teachers. �With the recruitment, the schools will be re-opened immediately,� Mr Ebenezer A. Edziie, Regional Director of NSS, told the Times here on Tuesday. He said most of the volunteers had already been dispatched to their assigned schools. Among them are retired teachers, university and polytechnic graduates as well as Senior High School leavers who have completed their National Service and wanted to do extension. Mr Edziie said the recruited teachers had been taken through five days of intensive orientation and skills training by the NSS, in conjunction with the Ghana Education Service (GES), education consultants and the Voluntary Service Organisation (VSC). He said the volunteers were posted in accordance with requests by the various districts GES of offices to the NSS. He lamented that the lack of teachers had adversely affected the education of children particularly in the remote areas.Mr Edziie said the NSS has taken the necessary steps to ensure that the voluntary report at their assigned schools and also monitor their performance. Meanwhile, he said, all the volunteers and 2008/2009 National Service personnel had been paid their allowances and transport and travelling (tnt) claims.