Library makes magic in CR students’ performance

Some basic schools in deprived communities which produced pupils who could hardly qualify for grade ‘C’ senior high schools in the Central Region, have metamorphosed into shining stars, producing students who have secured admission to Adisadel College, Mfantseman Girls, St Augustine’s College and Achimota School.

The wand that made the magic was the construction of a state-of-the-art community library, stocking it with books, computers and other teaching and learning materials by Connecting Kids Education Foundation (CKEF), a Ghana-based non-profit organisation, to encourage the pupils to study frequently.

The organisation also trains teachers to improve on their pedagogy and also liaises with stakeholders for their support towards the supply of the children’s basic needs such as food, shelter and clothing.

Prior to this feat, which resulted in the improved academic work of these children, the community leaders, municipal assembly and educational authorities had resorted to various measures to reverse the downward spiral of the educational fortunes where scoring zero was normal with many of the pupils who write the BECE having no opportunity to continue their education.

Desperation set in to the extent that some of the parents and their children resigned themselves to fate and most at times turned to the spirit world for a solution to the academic failures.

Abysmal Performance

The abysmal performance of the Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem (KEEA) Municipality in Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) compelled the assembly to cough up GH¢30,000 to organise a municipal mock examination in 2017, as a way of improving on this performance but in spite of the effort by the assembly, last year’s result was worst.

Although many factors have been attributed to this poor performance, the key factor identified is the inability of children to read and comprehend.

It came to light also that most of the students in junior high school (JHS) cannot even write their names, let alone read the instructions on the question papers.

The welcome news, however, is that CKEF in the Central Region, decided to take the bull by the horn and came to the aid of the schools in the municipality by training teachers to improve on their pedagogy, as well as establish modern library facilities in the schools.

Library Project

The officer responsible for the library project at the Besease Basic School, Mr Joshua Tawiah, told the Daily Graphic that although the organisation established the library in the school about five years ago, its impact had not been felt until the organisation, Connecting Kinds Education Foundation embarked on a vigorous training programme for all teachers to equip them to produce better results.

He said as a strategy towards that vision, the usage of the library had become vibrant, with teachers assigned specific roles to play in achieving that goal.

“Most of our teachers had been trained for all core subjects while a research team constituted with specific roles,” he said.

Mr Tawiah said all the teachers had also decided to sacrifice their time to teach students, particularly the final years, under strict supervision.

The Circuit Supervisor of Ayensudu, in the KEEA Municipality, Mr Gibson Ofori-Owusu, attributed the feat chalked up by the Besease school to the contribution of all stakeholders in the community.

“The restocking of the library with books and computers by Connecting Kids coupled with the training of teachers has contributed significantly to our success story in Besease,” he said.

Aggregate

He said hitherto, the aggregate for the best student in the BECE had been 25 and above, adding that with the presence of the library, the children could now read and write, a situation that led to improved academic performance.

Mr Ofori-Owusu said “our best aggregate for this year’s BECE was 15 with a lot of these students gaining admission to grade ‘A’ schools such as Ghana National College, Adisadel College, Mfantsiman school, among others.”

Commenting on Anween Kumasi Basic School in the municipality, which also received the benevolence from the organisation, he said “although we have not yet achieved the desired target, the children can now read and comprehend”.

He said all the candidates who wrote this year’s BECE had between grades one and five in ICT, adding that “our children are doing extremely well in ICT. We are placing emphasis on other subjects now.”

He announced that this year the CKEF library and training of teachers’ project would be moved to Abeyee Basic School, in the KEEA Municipality and would be inaugurated on Thursday, October 31, 2019.

Appeal

Mr Ofori-Owusu used the opportunity to appeal to parents and guardians to take keen interest in the education of their children and wards through buying of books and supervising their assignments.

While lauding the efforts of those spearheading this gesture for the good initiative, it is incumbent on all to ensure that this project is sustained while the students are encouraged to patronise the facility fully to be adequately prepared to face future challenges

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