More than 34 communities within the Manso Keniago enclave in the Amansie South District are grappling with a severe shortage of teachers, a situation residents and education authorities say is undermining quality education and threatening the future of hundreds of pupils.
The affected communities include Manso Aboaso, Nyamebekyere, Manso Esumenya, Gyegyetereso, Subrinso and several adjoining settlements.
The challenge is further compounded by the absence of a substantive District Director of Education for Amansie South.
Currently, the District Director of Education for Amansie West is overseeing educational activities in the district, raising concerns about effective supervision and the timely deployment of teachers to deprived communities.
A visit by Channel One News to some of the affected areas revealed the depth of the crisis. While some schools operate with only four teachers, others have three, two or even a single teacher handling multiple classes. In some instances, schools reportedly have no teachers at all.
At Manso Esumenya, the only school serving the community was found locked at about 11 a.m. due to the absence of a teacher. The school caters for pupils from kindergarten to Primary Three.
As a result, children who wish to continue their education beyond Primary Three are compelled to travel long distances to Aboaso to attend Primary Four to Six.
Residents say the shortage of teachers has become a persistent problem, often leaving pupils without lessons for several days. They fear the situation could negatively affect academic performance and contribute to increased school dropout rates.
The situation is equally dire at Aboaso, where a primary school with more than 400 pupils is being managed by only four teachers.
The shortage has forced teachers to combine classes, a practice educators say compromises effective teaching and learning.
Headmaster of the school, Yakubu Braimah, appealed to the government to urgently deploy more teachers to the area.
“We do not have teachers at all. From KG1 to Class 6, we are only three teachers, which forces us to combine some of the classes. Also, teaching a subject like ICT without a computer is not helping the students. So, we are pleading with authorities to come to our aid,” he lamented.
At the community’s Junior High School, four teachers are responsible for teaching nine subjects, a situation school authorities say is affecting students’ preparation for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
A similar challenge exists at Nyamebekyere, where the headmaster disclosed that only three teachers are responsible for handling eight classes. He appealed for immediate government intervention to address the growing crisis.
Meanwhile, the Chief of Keniago expressed concern about the situation, noting that nearly all 34 communities within the enclave face similar difficulties.
According to him, inadequate teacher postings have remained a major obstacle to educational development in the area despite efforts by local communities to support schools.
“We were already struggling with getting teachers into our school until one teacher was posted here in Aboaso to assist us. The community was able to hire another teacher to help out, but because we are not able to afford much, the teacher, who is a government worker, had to take some of his salary and add it to the little we generated just so we could pay the teacher we hired,” he said.
He explained that the arrangement was unsustainable and appealed to the government to provide long-term solutions to the problem.
The chief further disclosed that the community is prepared to offer land for the establishment of a teacher training college in the area as part of efforts to address the shortage over the long term.
The Assembly Member for the area also described the situation as alarming and called on the government and the Ghana Education Service to take urgent steps to deploy teachers to the affected communities.
Residents warn that unless immediate action is taken, the persistent shortage of teachers could further widen educational inequalities and deprive children in the enclave of access to quality basic education.
