The Asutifi North District Director of Education in the Ahafo Region, Ms Naomi Asante, has appealed to the government to provide additional infrastructure for deprived basic schools in the district, particularly at the pre-school level in order to help address overcrowding.
She explained that increasing enrolment figures, especially at the Kindergarten level, had compelled some basic schools to run two or three streams per class, a situation that was negatively affecting quality teaching and learning.
Ms Asante cited schools such as Kodiohia Basic School at Kenyasi, Osei Kofi Abbrey Basic, and Kwakyekrom Basic School at Ntotroso, which currently have inadequate facilities.
She noted that these schools had only one Junior High School (JHS) block, which is insufficient to accommodate the growing number of pupils across both basic and pre-school levels.
She made the appeal in an interview with The Ghanaian Times during the 2025 edition of the Asutifi North Reading Festival held last Thursday at Kenyasi.
At Kwakyekrom D/A Basic School, Ms Asante mentioned that both KG1 and KG2 classrooms required additional blocks, offices, and conference rooms to provide a conducive learning environment for pupils and working space for teachers.
Furthermore, she acknowledged the support of traditional authorities and corporate institutions such as Newmont Ahafo Mines, its subcontractor Underground Mining Alliance (UMA), and the District Assembly, for their contributions to improving education infrastructure in the district.
However, she stressed that more needed to be done to complement these efforts.
Ms Asante also disclosed that the District Education Directorate had intensified school monitoring activities and stakeholder engagement to improve academic performance across schools in the district.
According to her, the District Assembly recently organised mock examinations for Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates to help prepare them for the national exams.
Moreover, she highlighted the positive impact of co-curricular activities such as speech and prize-giving days, spelling bees, and quiz competitions, which she empasised were helping to boost enrolment in schools across the district.
“Our Girl-Child and SHIP Coordinators are also actively engaging young girls in schools, encouraging them to stay in school and complete their education,” she added.
Ms Asante then appealed for logistical support, particularly vehicles, to enable the directorate to effectively carry out its supervisory and administrative duties.
FROM DANIEL DZIRASAH, KENYASI
