Regional departmental heads and representatives of the Ghana Police Service, teacher unions, traditional and religious organisations were present.

Mr Eric Sikatse, the Head of Inspectorate, GES, Eastern Region, said the meeting was to examine educational activities and collect inputs for integration into the Education Strategic Plan for 2023 to improve learning outcomes.

He said the GES Headquarters, with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), requested that a similar review forum be held nationwide.

Mr Seth Kwame Acheampong, the Regional Minister, lauded the directorate for organising the forum and said: “Education provides the foundation on which much of our economic and social well-being is built and translates a poor economy into a rich economy by increasing the value and efficiency of human capital.”

The Sustainable Development Goal Four required the Government to ensure equitable education and promote lifelong opportunities for all.

“The Government is on track to meeting this target with the implementation of the Free Senior High School Policy,” he said.

“However, ensuring quality education delivery is not only about access but also the quality of delivery.”

Mr Felix Asiedu Koranteng, the Eastern Regional Planning Officer, GES, in a presentation on the state of education in the region, said it increased supervision to improve teaching and learning and introduced comprehensive school self-evaluation processes to help identify weaknesses and strengths in designing improvement plans for remediation.

The region organised science and mathematics quizzes for five districts, established a gender club, workshop for science and mathematics teachers, a girls’ camp, and after-school classes in collaboration with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

Mr Koranteng mentioned the major challenges to include difficulty in getting teachers to accept postings to hard-to-reach areas; lack of accommodation and office space for newly created districts; encroachment on school lands; and lack of a depot for the Regional Education Directorate to receive supplies.

Mr Anim Humphrey, Budget Officer, Eastern Region, said the GES, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, had initiated the Education Accountability System to ensure efficient resource deployment and management for effective pre-tertiary education delivery.

The participants suggested that to address the issues raised, teachers’ quarters must be built at hard-to-reach areas, in addition to incentives for newly posted teachers to improve service delivery.

Abondoned infrastructure projects in schools should be examined for continuation or reconstruction to bridge the structural deficit.

In response to encroachment on school property, Nana Twumasi Dankwa, Gyasehene of the New Juaben Traditional Area, advised the affected schools to erect fence walls or report the trespassers for prosecution at the courts.