The Eastern Region covers a land size of 19,323 km2 and made up of 33 Municipals and Districts. It has a Population of 3.21 million (2020 census). The capital is Koforidua – the proverbial “city of flowers”. Currently, with the second largest number of districts after Ashanti Region in the country.
It shares borders with the Greater Accra Region to the south, Volta and Oti Regions to the east, Ashanti Region to the north and Central Region to the west.
It is endowed with an evergreen vegetation, typical of a rain forest, containing the biggest tree ever sighted in West Africa. It has a number of tourist attractions such as the Akosombo dam, Kpong dam at Akuse, the Aburi Botanical Gardens, Boti and Asenema falls and also physical sceneries like, the Akuapem, Kwahu and Obotabiri mountains.
The Akosombo Textiles, Aburi Carving Village and the Peduase Presidential Lodge are all located in the Region.
There are also an Orchard and a canopy walk at Bonsu. Annually, para-gliding festival is organised at the Kwahu Odwenanoma mountains. The regions have a number of mining centres, principally mining gold and diamond.
Our Vision as a Directorate is to aspire to be among the best regions in Ghana for quality education delivery at the pre-tertiary level to produce responsible citizens.
Our Mission is to provide quality pre-tertiary education with particular emphasis on academic excellence while harnessing available resources in concert with stakeholders in education.
Our Values are integrity, professionalism and hard work.
Policy Goals
- Quality Education
- Educational Management
- Science, Technology, Technical and Vocational Education and Training
- Equitable Access to Education
Key Strategic Priorities
- Close gaps in educational attainments by improving pedagogical skills of teachers.
- Collaborate across districts/ schools to boost students’ confidence, increase expectation and celebrate successes as a region and in individual schools.
- Enhance supervision to raise standards in teaching and learning.
- Introduce comprehensive school self-evaluation processes to help identify weaknesses and strengths, in designing improvement plan for remediation.
- Ensure the proficient application of technology in education.
- Ensure effective leadership by school heads (with clear vision and mission statements of their schools in line with the GES standards).
Number of Public Schools by Level
From 2018/19 to 2020/21
| Levels | 2018/2019 | 2019/2020 | 2020/2021 |
| KG | 1791 | 1799 | 1851 |
| PRIMARY | 1836 | 1838 | 1891 |
| JHS | 1394 | 1419 | 1495 |
| SHS | 89 | 90 | 92 |
The number of KGs increased by 60 from 1,791 to 1851 representing 3%
The number of Primary schools increased by 55 from 1836 to 1891 representing 3%
Growth rate at the JHS was 7.2% from 1,394 to 1,495 schools
The SHS also grew by 3.3% from 89 to 92 schools. The New Schools were Apesua SHS, Abomosu STEM SHS and Nsawam Reformers SHS
Number of Private Schools by Level
From 2018/19 to 2020/21
| Level | 2018/2019 | 2019/2020 | 2020/2021 |
| KG | 1059 | 1138 | 1176 |
| PRIMARY | 1021 | 1099 | 1127 |
| JHS | 633 | 678 | 733 |
The number of Private KGs grew by 11% from 1,059 to 1176.
Primary schools increased by 10% from 1,021 to 1,127.
JHS schools increased by 16% from 633 to 733. The number of private schools however did not change.
Public Schools Enrolment by Level
From 2018/19 to 2020/21
| Level | 2018/2019 | 2019/2020 | 2020/2021 |
| KG | 123,117 | 125,824 | 124,245 |
| PRIMARY | 315,072 | 320,726 | 326,312 |
| JHS | 130,017 | 137,878 | 147,267 |
| SHS | 158,842 | 170,307 | 177,010 |
At the KG level, enrolment improved by 2.2% in 2019 – 2020 but dropped by 1.2% in 2021.
For primary, 3.6% growth was recorded between 2019 – 2021.
Junior High School, 13.3% growth was recorded between 2019 – 2021.
At the Senior High School level, 11.4% growth was recorded between 2019 – 2021.
STAFFING
TEACHING STAFF
|
TRAINED |
UNTRAINED |
|||||
|
LEVELS |
MALES |
FEMALES |
TOTAL |
MALES |
FEMALES |
TOTAL |
|
K G |
458 |
3944 |
4402 |
44 |
237 |
281 |
|
PRIMARY |
5689 |
6097 |
11786 |
235 |
87 |
322 |
|
J H S |
6966 |
3360 |
10326 |
206 |
30 |
236 |
|
S H S |
5435 |
1932 |
7367 |
1276 |
453 |
1729 |
NON-TEACHING STAFF PTR
|
LEVELS |
MALE |
FEMALE |
TOTAL |
|
K G |
6 |
11 |
17 |
|
PRIMARY |
4 |
0 |
4 |
|
J H S |
23 |
10 |
33 |
|
S H S |
1971 |
1679 |
3650 |
|
K G |
25 |
|
PRIMARY |
27 |
|
J H S |
14 |
|
S H S |
24 |
NUMBER OF SCHOOLS (DATA)
| K G | PRIMARY | J H S | SPECIAL SCHS | S H S | GRAND
TOTAL |
|
1851 |
1891 |
1495 |
5 |
94 |
5336 |
SCHOOL ENROLMENT
KINDERGARTEN
|
KG 1 |
KG 2 |
GRAND TOTAL |
||||||
|
BOYS |
GIRLS |
TOTAL |
BOYS |
GIRLS |
TOTAL |
BOYS |
GIRLS |
TOTAL |
|
34722 |
33741 |
68,463 |
25610 |
24462 |
50,072 |
60332 |
58203 |
11835 |
PRIMARY
|
LEVELS |
BOYS |
GIRLS |
TOTAL |
|
P 1 |
27102 |
25683 |
52785 |
|
P 2 |
27673 |
26235 |
53908 |
|
P 3 |
28855 |
26879 |
55734 |
|
P 4 |
29080 |
26830 |
55910 |
|
P 5 |
28597 |
26689 |
55286 |
|
P 6 |
27545 |
25144 |
52689 |
|
GRAND TOTAL |
168852 |
157460 |
326312 |
JHS
|
LEVELS |
BOYS |
GIRLS |
TOTAL |
|
JHS 1 |
26411 |
24959 |
51370 |
|
JHS 2 |
25573 |
24345 |
49918 |
|
JHS 3 |
23666 |
22313 |
45979 |
|
GRAND TOTAL |
75650 |
71617 |
147267 |
SHS
|
LEVELS |
BOYS |
GIRLS |
TOTAL |
|
SHS 1 |
28444 |
30549 |
58993 |
|
SHS 2 |
27136 |
30239 |
57375 |
|
SHS 3 |
28439 |
30440 |
58879 |
| GRAND TOTAL |
79066 |
87860 |
166926 |
KEY ACTIVITIES: – (STORES)
This is the details of items received and distributed within the period under review in a tabular form.
NATIONAL DIGITAL LITERACY PROJECT MATERIALS
| S/N | ITEM RECEIVED | QUANTITY RECEIVED | DATE
RECEIVED |
REMARKS |
| 1 | TABLETS | 2850 | 12/04/23 | DISTRIBUTED |
| 2 | LAPTOP | 57 | 12/04/23 | DISTRIBUTED |
| 3 | CAP | 57 | 12/04/23 | DISTRIBUTED |
| 4 | ELECTRONIC KIT | 570 | 12/04/23 | DISTRIBUTED |
| 5 | I O- BOT | 570 | 12/04/23 | DISTRIBUTED |
| 6 | PROJECTOR | 57 | 12/04/23 | DISTRIBUTED |
| 7 | CHARGING CABINET | 228 | 12/04/23 | DISTRIBUTED |
EXERCISE BOOKS
| S/N | QUANTITY
RECEIVED |
DATE RECEIVED | REMARKS |
| 1 | 111,128 | 20/04/23 | DISTRIBUTED |
| 2 | 11,400 | 20/04/23 | DISTRIBUTED |
| 3 | 330,537 | 30/O4/23 | DISTRIBUTED |
| 4 | 377,757 | 22/7/23 | DISTRIBUTED |
NOTE BOOK
| S/N | QUANTITY
RECEIVED |
DATE
RECEIVED |
REMARKS |
| 1 | 37,088 | 05/05/23 | DISTRIBUTED |
| 2. | 37,088 | 20/05/23 | DISTRIBUTED |
| 3 | 125,919 | 20/06/23 | DISTRIBUTED |
| 4. | 128,987 | 22/06/23 | DISTRIBUTION ONGOING |
CORE MATH TEXT BOOK (TEACHERS GUIDE)
| 1 | ITEMS RECEIVED | QUANTITY
RECEIVED |
DATE
RECEIVED |
REMARKS |
| 2 | ESSENCE NEW BASIC MAHS T. G. 3 | 49 | 20/04/23 | DISTRIBUTED |
| 3 | ESSENCE NEW BASIC MATHS T. G 5 | 43 | 20/04/23 | DISTRIBUTED |
HAND WRITING PRACTICING BOOK
| S/N | QUANTITY RECEIVED | DATE
RECEIVED |
REMARKS |
| 1. | 50,453 | 11/05/2023 | DISTRIBUTION ONGOING |
- E KITS
| 1. | QUANTITY RECEIVED | DATE
RECEIVED |
REMARKS |
| 2. | 18, 363 | 11/05/23 | DISTRIBUTED |
| 3. | 18,363 | 11/05/23 | DISTRIBUTED |
| 4. | 20,986 | 13/06/23 | DISTRIBUTION ONGOING |
| 5. | 20,087 | 13/06/23 | DISTRIBUTION ONGOING |
WHITE BOARD MARKER
| S/N | QUANTITY RECEIVED | DATE
RECIEVED |
REMARKS |
| 1. | 11,040 | 17/05/23 | DISTRIBUTION ONGOING |
COMPLEMENTARY READERS
| S/N | ITEM
RECEIVED |
QUANTITY
RECEIVED |
DATE
RECEIVED |
REMARKS |
| 1 | WITCHES OF HONOR | 3844 | 29/05/23 | PARTLY DISTRIBUTED |
| 2 | THE SMART WITCHES CLUB | 3844 | 29/05/23 | PARTLY DISTRIBUTED |
| 3 | A BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER | 3844 | 29/05/23 | PARTLY DISTRIBUTED |
| 4 | BORN TO PLAY | 3844 | 29/05/23 | PARTLY DISTRIBUTED |
| 5 | CLOSE ENEMIES | 29/05/23 | PARTLY DISTRIBUTED | |
| 6 | THE HUNT | 29/05/23 | PARTLY DISTRIBUTED | |
| 7 | THE ADVENTURE OF KOFI AND HAWA | 29/05/23 | PARTLY DISTRIBUTED |
ENGLISH LANGUAGE REVISION BOOK
| S/N | QUANTITY
RECEIVED |
DATE RECEIVED | REMARKS |
| 1 | 115,887 | 27/06/23 | YET TO BE DISTRIBUTED |
CORE MATHS TEXT BOOK
| S/N | ITEM RECEIVED | QUANTITY
RECEIVED |
DATE
RECIVED |
REMARKS |
| 1. | CORE MATHS BOOK 1 | 7373 | 29/06/23 | YET TO BE DISTRIBUTED |
| 2. | CORE MATHS
BOOK 2 |
6622 | 29/06/23 | YET TO BE DISTRIBUTED |
INSPECTORATE UNIT; (School Health Education Program (SHEP)
Workshop on Oral Care
One day workshop for Primary School Based Health (SHEP) Coordinators on oral care dubbed “Bright Smiles, Bright Future” (BSBF) on the important oral health habits, good and bad foods and how disease is formed in the mouth. It was organized by Colgate Palmolive Ghana Ltd at the New Juaben Municipal Library for 152 Teachers from Public and Private Basic School in New Juaben North and South Municipal.
Nutrition Friendly School Initiative (NFSI)
Engagement with the Media on the Nutrition Friendly School Initiative (NFSI) on 26th April, 2023 at the Regional NHIS Conference Hall, Koforidua to equip participants with the necessary knowledge regarding the initiative and to build their capacity towards implementation of the program in the various schools. This was organized by the Family Health Division of the Ghana Health Service, Ghana Education Service (SHEP) in partnership with UNICEF.
Menstrual Hygiene Day
Commemoration of 2023 Menstrual Hygiene Day from 23rd May – 30th May, 2023, under the theme, ‘WE ARE COMMITTED’ in the various Districts/Municipals in the region. The day was crowned by a Regional Durbar at Dominase in the Fanteakwa North District. The durbar was supported with the distribution of sanitary pads by the Hunger Project-Ghana, World Vision, Rescue Volunteers-Ghana.
Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health Survey (ASRH)
The SHEP Coordinator, Guidance and Counselling Coordinator and the Girls Education Officer participated in the dissemination of key findings from the Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health Survey (ASRH) on 21st June, 2023 at NODA Hotel, Kumasi by the Social and Behavior Change (SBC) Unit of the UNICEF, Kantar Public in collaboration with Ghana Health Service.
Workshop on the Inclusion of Small Fish in the Ghana School Feeding Program (GSFP)
A two-day capacity development workshop on the inclusion of small fish in the Ghana School Feeding Program (GSFP), from 27th – 28th June, 2023 by the Fisheries Commission in collaborating with FAO. It was to build the skills and capacity of GSFP caterers and cooks on best practices with a practical session.
Fruit Day
Institution of Fruit Day in the Regional Education Directorate to encourage every staff member to eat fruits at least twice every week.
STEM/STMIE Education;
Girls STEM by KOICA Project
As part of the Regional Level activities for the Girls STEM by KOICA Project, the Regional Level monitoring of KOICA activities in project districts was conducted from 6th to 15th June, 2023.
The monitoring exercise was meant to evaluate and provide support on activities ongoing in project districts.
The Regional Team visited several schools to interact with the Headteachers, Maths and Science Teachers, Students and Gender-Club Teachers. The Regional team was also present a review meeting held in each of the project districts.
Regional Qualifiers of the 2023 National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ)
The Eastern Regional Qualifiers of the 2023 National Science and Maths Quiz was held from 17th-21st June, 2023 at the Ascension Hall (Presbyterian Church), Koforidua. The competition begins at 9:00am each day and sixty (62) Senior High Schools forming 15 groups contested in the qualifiers where winners in each group qualified to nationals. Schools that qualified with less than 40 points received GH?1,000.00 and GH?1,500.00 to schools that qualified with more than 40 points. All other contestants were also given certificates.
List of Qualified Schools: Nkwatia Presby SHS, Koforidua SHTS, Krobo Girls SHS, Asamankese SHS, Mamfe Meth. Girls SHS, Okuapemman SHS, Oti Boateng SHS, Aburi Girls SHS, Ofori Panin SHS, Yilo Krobo SHS, St. Peter’s SHS, Oda SHS, Mpraeso SHS, Nifa SHS and Abuakwa State College.
Four (4) Seeded Schools: Pope John SHS, Ghana SHS, Presby SHTS, Aburi and Presby SHS, Abetifi.
Senior High School Renewable Energy Challenge
The Senior High School Renewable Energy Challenge was initiated by the Energy Commission in collaboration with Ghana Education Service with the aim of fostering an interest in renewable energy in students of second-cycle institutions. The challenge seeks to provide education and awareness, promote research and innovation in renewable energy, clean energy and energy efficiency among the various senior high and technical schools in the country. The challenge was also meant to highlight innovative renewable energy and energy efficiency projects by Senior High School students and provides a platform for the exhibition of their projects.
Ten Senior High Schools (Okuapemman School, Aburi Girls SHS, Fodoa Comm. Day SHS, Mamfe Meth. Girls SHS, St. Roses SHS, Oyoko Methodist SHS, Kwahu Ridge SHS, New Juaben SHS, Pope John SHS, Suhum SHTS) in the Eastern Region participated in this year’s competition on the theme; “Mechanised Small-Scale Agriculture Using Renewable Energy Technologies”. Okuapemman School won the day.
The day commenced at exactly 9:30am with most of the dignitaries present. The programme was marked with; speeches from dignitaries, presentation of projects by participating schools and declaration of results and presentation of awards.
STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
Interventions:
- Capacity-building workshop for all staff
- Girls in ICT
- International Day of Mathematics
- Extended instructional hours
- Organizing SPAM
- Reading festivals
- Quizzes and inter-school’s competitions
- Improved monitoring and supervision (Team Monitoring)
- Guidance and Counselling for Students/Teachers
- Team Teaching
- Back-to-school campaign
- Certificate audit
- Exposure of students to industrial practice
- Redeployment of teachers
- Stakeholder engagement on discipline in schools
- Mentorship for newly-recruited teachers.
- School Connect (yielded good results as a result of this outreach activity by the Regional Director and her team.
- Coaching and mentoring of students to boost their confidence
- Setting of “SMART” targets
- Signing of Performance Contract
- International Day for Women and Girls in Science
- Engaging teachers on the Chief Examiners’ Report
- Institution of ‘one keyword a day, an idiom a week, a page a day and a book a month’ strategy
- Targeted remediation/differentiated learning for weak students, i.e. Weekend Classes
- Institution of vacation assignments
- Appraisal of Teachers
- Adoption of schools by Directors/Officers
CHALLENGES
- Encroachment on school lands (lack of fence walls)
- Difficulty in getting teachers to accept postings to ‘hard- to-reach’ areas
- Accommodation and Office space for newly created Districts
- Staff Bungalows for some Senior High Schools
- Bus and Pick Ups for some Senior High Schools
- Delays in the release of GOG
- Galamsey menace having effect on school attendance in a number of galamsey endemic areas in the Region
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Given the nature and volumes of disciplinary/ legal issues, it would be prudent to have legal officers or people with legal background in the Regional Offices.
- The policy of staff accommodation and incentives for teachers accepting postings to hard-to-reach communities should be pursued rigorously.
- Teachers in the Sciences are needed
- Timely release of GOG
- Clear guidelines on the operations of PTAs should be made available