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| Afrikids Bolga Area Manager, Cletus Anaaya ,addressing the gathering at Saporo in the Bongo District |
About two
thousand 500 out of school children in
targeted districts of the Upper East Region have been taken through a 9-month
Complementary Basic Education, CBE, programme in their mother tongue.
The programme is to prepare
them for mainstream or formal education in September this year.
The operational
districts are Bongo, Talensi and Nabdam. At the 2nd graduation ceremony held at
Saporo in the Bongo District, parent were asked not to downplay the future of
their wards but rather give them the best education they desire.
In a speech for him,
the Country Director of Afrikids, Nicholas Kumah, re-echoed the urgency for
parents to nurture their wards through education.
He said the best
legacy they can bequeath their children is to support them to climb the stages of
their academic career. Correspondent Isaac Asare has more for Ghana today.
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| Dignitaries present at the function |
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| Section of CBE beneficiaries |
The Ghana
Complementary Basic Education, CBE, Programme is a functional literacy
programme for out-of-school children.
Available statistics
indicates that over 20,000 children are out of school in the Upper East Region.
The situation is not different in other deprived regions of the country.
The government of Ghana realizing the fate of
these unfortunate children developed the CBE programme, as a catalyst to get them
into formal school after a period of complementary basic education through
their mother tongue.
The policy with
financial support from the UK Department for International Development, gives
priority attention to children between the ages of 8 and 14.
These children are
identified by the various stakeholders including AfriKids Ghana, the GES and the
Department of Social Welfare.
The project works by
forming community committees from which facilitators are trained to provide the
transitional education.
Beneficiaries are made to attend classes after which
they are supported by the GES, to enroll with schools in their respective
localities.
Last year, one
thousand 194 out-of- school children in the Bongo and Talensi districts were
enrolled in schools. Moreover, out of the over 24,000 learners that enrolled in
the first year of the CBEs implementation, 95 percent, mostly girls, graduated
successfully.
The success story was
made possible through the intervention of Afrikids Ghana and the GES. The
graduation of the second batch of students re-enforces Afrikids commitment to
addressing the high school drop out in the region.
These children drawn
from the operational districts of Bongo, Talensi and Nabdam will be placed in
different classes in their community schools based on their ability.
Addressing the
gathering, the Bongo District Director of Education, Duncan Nsoh, showed
appreciation to Afrikids and its partners for their sense of responsiveness,
emphasizing the need for parents to complement their effort with the aim to
sustain the gains made over the years.
He further advised
parents to consider the education of their wards, their utmost priority and
strive to give them the best of education they desire.
Various speakers at
the function also drummed home the need for children to be given the needed
support through education so as to enable them have the urge to pursue their
academic careers.
They also encouraged the beneficiaries to
capitalize on the opportunity given them to develop themselves academically.
The Bolgatanga Area
Manager of Afrikids, Cletus Anaaya told Radio Ghana that the welfare of the
child has always been the interest of Afrikids, hence the educational support
for the beneficiaries.
He said based on the successes
chalked over the year, Afrikids has won a bid to extend the CBE programme to
areas such Bawku, Pusiga and Karaga in the northern region.
Mr Anaaya indicated
that most of the learners who benefitted from the programme for the first cycle
are performing well in their schools having been supported with uniforms from
the education directorate.
The move, he noted,
demonstrates the readiness of the beneficiary districts to sustain the programme
after Afrikids has exited.
The learners were
awarded with certificate of completion and assisted with exercise books,
pencils and other educational materials to prepare them adequately as they
enter into formal education come September this year.
Some of the children
shared their joy for being part of the CBE programme.
They were equally grateful to Afrikids for
teaching them how to read and write in their mother tongue.
GBC NEWS END ISAAC ASARE
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