The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Jirapa, Peter To-Ang Nangpello Ninfaapigzie, has disclosed that the Assembly has established an Education Fund with an initial seed amount of GH¢100,000 to help address the growing challenge of poor academic performance in the municipality.
Speaking to journalists after appearing before the Parliamentary Committee on Local Government and Rural Development during its public sitting, Mr. To-Ang said the initiative is part of a broader strategy to strengthen education delivery in the area.
The Committee was considering the 2024 financial statements of the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) from the northern sector.
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“We have taken the bold step, myself and the MP, to institute an Education Fund to address the problems that are causing mass failure. We have launched the fund, and so far, we have raised GH¢100,000 as seed money. Our target is GH¢200,000, but we are still appealing to other stakeholders within the municipality to assist,” he stated.
The MCE noted that the fund will support teacher training, monitoring, and the provision of learning materials to boost academic performance.
“One of the major issues we identified is a lack of monitoring. Some teachers do not attend school for weeks, and education directors are unable to detect it. In some cases, students also go to school late or stay away completely.”
“We are using part of the fund to strengthen supervision and to organize in-service training for teachers, especially in new subjects like Building Design Technology and Creative Arts” he explained.
According to him, the introduction of new courses has exposed gaps in teacher preparedness, as many are not trained in the subjects before they were rolled out.
“Even at the training colleges, these courses are not taught. So we are organizing refresher courses to help teachers acquire the needed content knowledge,” he said.
The Jirapa MCE also announced plans to use part of the fund to organize competitions among schools and reward outstanding performers with trophies and educational materials.
“This will motivate both teachers and students to work harder and improve results across the municipality,” he emphasized.
On financial accountability, the MCE assured that the Assembly has adopted strict measures to ensure proper lodgement of internally generated funds (IGF) into official accounts.
“The issue raised was about revenue collectors not paying all monies collected into the Assembly’s account. But with the advice of the Committee, my team, together with the MP, has taken steps to address it. We now send a vehicle to the various markets to transport collected funds directly to the bank,” he stated.
Mr. To-Ang reaffirmed his commitment to transparency and collaboration, adding that the Assembly’s development agenda will continue to prioritize education as the foundation for sustainable growth in Jirapa.