Chiana Traditional Council holds education dialogue ahead of 2025 Fao Festival

The Chiana Traditional Council, under the leadership of the Chiana Pio Pe Ditundini Adiali Ayagitam III, has organised an education stakeholders’ dialogue in Chiana to address declining academic performance in the eastern part of the Kassena Nankana West District in the Upper East Region.

The dialogue, dubbed “Educational Dialogue on Reflections and Solutions for Improving Basic Education Outcomes in the Chiana Traditional Area,” formed part of activities lined up for the 2025 Chiana Fao Festival celebrations.

The day-long engagement brought together teachers, students, School Improvement Support Officers, School Management Committee members, officials from the Kassena Nankana West Education Directorate, and representatives of AfriKids. Participants examined factors contributing to poor academic performance and proposed practical solutions.

Key issues identified included absenteeism on market days, parental neglect, teenage pregnancies, inadequate teaching and learning materials, and irregular school attendance, particularly affecting performance in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

Statistics from the Ghana Education Service show a worrying trend in BECE outcomes over the past two years. In 2023, 64 candidates obtained aggregates of 37 and above, while the number increased to 167 in 2024, reflecting a decline in overall performance.

The District Director of Education for Kassena Nankana West, Mary Magdalene Wompakea, expressed concern about the situation, attributing the poor results to several factors. These include weak educational foundations at the primary level, challenges with the quality of teacher training, inadequate teaching and learning resources, poor teacher motivation, market days affecting school attendance, low parental involvement, misuse of mobile phones by students, the absence of a clear cut-off point for SHS placement, and the abuse of the pregnancy re-entry policy, among others.

She called for a collective effort involving government, teachers, parents, traditional authorities and non-governmental organisations to reverse the downward trend in academic performance.

Chairman of the Planning Committee for the Foa Festival, Aniba Simple John, stressed the relevance of the dialogue to improving educational standards in the area.

“The grades of the students have recently been poor; this activity is aimed at changing that. We will continue with this until we see a change.” He said.

Participants noted that the dialogue provided a valuable platform to identify the root causes of poor BECE performance and to propose achievable interventions to improve education outcomes in the Chiana Traditional Area.

The 2025 Fao Festival will climax on January 3, 2026, with a grand durbar of chiefs and people of the Chiana Traditional Area.

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