Education in the Municipality is being overseen by the Municipal Directorate of Education whose responsibility is the administration, monitoring and supervision of teaching and learning in the Municipality The Assembly currently has both Basic and Second Cycle Schools. The municipality has been sub divided into eight (8) Circuits for the purpose of effective administration and supervision. Table 1.2.12 presents a distribution of educational facilities in the Assembly. Pre-School Level/Kindergarten
At the Pre-School Level, the total number of kindergartens was 90 in 2004 and 99 in 2006. In regards to total enrollment, it rose from 4,610 in 2004 to 8,573 in 2006. The gross enrollment rate (percentage of children 4-5 attending pre-school) also increased from 48.9% in 2004 to 86.2% in 2006. The gender parity index (male gross enrollment rate versus female gross enrollment rate) was 0.96 in 2004, 1.04 in 2005, and 1.02 in 2006. Educating the students were 334 teachers in 2004, 355 in 2005, and 348 in 2006. However, with the increase in enrollment the pupil to teacher ratio increased from 13.8 in 2004 to 24.6 in 2006. The table below provides an overview of the key performance indicators. Primary School
At the Primary School Level, the total number of schools was 107 in 2004 and 112 in 2006. In regards to total enrollment, it rose from 20,357 in 2004 to 22,312 in 2006. The gross enrollment rate (percentage of children 6-11 attending school) also increased from 78.0% in 2004 to 82.4% in 2006. The gender parity index (male gross enrollment rate versus female gross enrollment rate) was 0.95 in 2004, 0.93 in 2005, and 0.98 in 2006. Educating the students were 725 teachers in 2004, 736 in 2005, and 763 in 2006. However, with the increase in enrollment the pupil to teacher ratio increased from 28.1 in 2004 to 29.2 in 2006. The table below provides an overview of the key performance indicators. Junior Secondary School
At the Junior Secondary School Level, the total number of schools was 59 in 2006. In regards to total enrollment, it rose from 6,824 in 2004 to 7,447 in 2006. The gross enrollment rate (percentage of children 12-14 attending school) also increased from 70.9% in 2004 to 73.4% in 2006. The gender parity index (male gross enrollment rate versus female gross enrollment rate) was 0.98 in 2004, 0.99 in 2005, and 0.95 in 2006. Educating the students were 416 teachers in 2004, 435 in 2005, and 419 in 2006. However, with the increase in enrollment the pupil to teacher ratio increased from 16.4 in 2004 to 17.8 in 2006. The table below provides an overview of the key performance indicators. Senior Secondary School
At the Senior Secondary School Level, the total number of schools was 4 in 2004 and 5 in 2006. In regards to total enrollment, it rose from 3,448 in 2004 to 3,562 in 2006. The table below provides an overview of the key performance indicators. TVET
In regards to TVET, the total number of schools was 3 in 2004 and 3 in 2006. In terms of total enrollment, it rose from 79 in 2004 to 92 in 2006. The table below provides an overview of the key performance indicators. Non-Formal Education
In terms of non-formal education, the total number of programmes was 2 in 2004 and 2 in 2006. In regards to total enrollment, it rose from 1,820 in 2004 to 1,272 in 2006. The table below provides an overview of the key performance indicators. Education Structures
The Education Directorate has a number of structures for the management of Basic Education System. Prominent among them are:
- Municipal Education Planning Team (MEPT): This unit carries out community sensitization and the training of facilitators.
- Municipal Teacher Support Team (MTST): Organizes in service training, workshops in schools and at cluster centres to sharpen and consolidate the instructional skills of teachers.
- The Girls Education Unit (GEU): The unit undertakes sensitization programmes on the importance of girls’ education.
- The Science Technology and Mathematics Education (STME): focuses on creating awareness of the need for girls to study science, Mathematics and Technical subjects.
- The School Health Education Programme (SHEP): The unit designs strategies for the upkeep and maintenance of good health in school.
- Municipal Education Oversight Committee (MEOC): The DEOC was established by an Act of Parliament (GES Act 1995) exercises absolute responsibility over and authority over educational issues in the Municipality. The Municipal Chief Executive chairs the MEOC.
Most communities in the Municipality have Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) and School Management Committees (SMC) which see to address some concerns in public schools.Interventions
The Assembly is privileged to be included in the following interventions, all of which aim at improving teaching and learning in the district:
- Education Quality For All (EQUALL), a USAID sponsored programme
- Government Accountability Improves Trust (GAIT)
The Municipal education is faced with the following constraints despite its achievements in the last 3 years under review.
Second Cycle Schools
- Inadequate logistics such as vehicles and fuel for inspecting officer
- Late release of funds adversely affects timely execution of service activities.
- Inadequate supply of textbooks.
- Lateness and absenteeism on the part of teachers
- Lack of social amenities such as hospitals, electricity, markets and good roads in rural areas to serve as incentive to teachers who are posted to rural areas.
- Low morale as a result of poor remuneration
- Poor enrollment in most rural schools-making it impossible to give the full complement of teachers i.e. two teachers for a Primary School.
- Inadequate facilities such as classrooms giving rise to shift system
The Municipality has four (4) Senior Secondary Schools (S.S.S) namely Agogo State, Collins Commercial Agogo, Konongo /Odumasi SSS and Owereiman Day SSS. The Municipality has two Presbyterian Women Training Institutions, a Nurses Training and a Teacher Training College all located at Agogo. It also has two Integrated Community Centre for Employable Skills (ICCES) at Dwease and Akutuase which handles vocational subjects.Tertiary Institutions
The Presbyterian University has designated Agogo as a location for the citing of a campus for training of its medical and agricultural students however, this is yet to be established.Enrollment
Analysis shows that enrollment has increased at the basic levels in the district during the period under reviewed for Pre-School, Primary and JSS levels in both public and private schools between 2004/2005 and 2005/2006. School enrollment at basic levels is presented in Table 1.2.13.
Invariably, the Second Cycle Schools has noticed a decline in pupil enrollment during the period under reviewed (2002-2004) as compared to its 2000-2002 enrollment. Table 1.2.17 and Table 1.2.18 provide a statistics of enrollment at the Senior Secondary School (SSS) level. While there is a general increase in enrollment between (2000/2001-2001/2002) and (2002/2003-2003/2004), however there is a decrease in percentage increase during this period.Comparative Analysis of Enrollment Figures
A comparative analysis of enrollment figures in public schools shows that whereas in the case of boys there has been a steady rise in enrollment figures in the Primary and JSS (2001/2002-2003/2004) that of girls in the JSS level decreased. Some of the reasons attributed for the drop out are:
i. Broken Homes
ii. Inability of parents to pay school fees, purchase stationery, uniforms and other related school materials
iii. Re-location of parents or pupils to other community and
iv. Teenage pregnancy.
However, in the Second Cycle Schools, the enrollment consistently keeps on rising as can be found in Table 1.2.20.Performance at BECE Level
The performance of candidates at the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) from 2002-2004 is shown in Table 1.2.21.Teacher Population
The teacher population distribution at the basic levels for both public and private schools for the period under review (2002-2004) is presented in tables below:Non-Formal Education Division (NFED)
The Assembly has a high level of illiteracy covering about 50% of its population of 126,477 (based on 2000 Population and Housing Census). The situation places an enormous responsibility on all education-related bodies and committees. As a result a Non-Formal Education Division was set up.
It was recorded that about 1094 adult learners have become functionary literate through this programme. Since 2002 under the GPRS, the Government has been assisting the programme, and currently there are 300 literacy classes in the Municipality with a total number of 3005 learners comprising 704 males and 2301 females. Among the leading communities patronizing the programme in the Municipality are Wioso, Akutuase and Pekyerekye.
For tables refer to pdf file attached