Rural teacher flight and deteriorating infrastructure have pushed academic performance in Ghana’s Sissala West District to alarming lows, with education officials now demanding urgent government intervention to salvage the situation.
The district’s Deputy Director of Education, Suleman Suwia, painted a grim picture of educational delivery during recent public remarks. Academic performance has plummeted to just 22% in 2024, a crisis he attributes largely to chronic teacher shortages exacerbated by what amounts to a revolving door of educators unwilling to stay in the rural district.
“Our biggest challenge now is teachers,” Suwia stated bluntly. He explained that government deployments over the years have brought many educators from southern Ghana, but retention remains virtually impossible. After serving the mandatory three years, most teachers request transfers back to their home regions to reunite with families, leaving classrooms without instructors and students without consistent guidance.
The problem extends beyond staffing numbers. Some schools operate without proper kindergarten structures, forcing young children to learn in makeshift facilities. Furniture shortages compound the difficulties, with pupils sometimes studying in conditions that would shock anyone accustomed to basic educational amenities. Several communities lack electricity, making evening study sessions impossible and limiting teachers’ quality of life in ways that further discourage long-term stays.
Housing represents another critical deterrent. Teachers posted to rural Sissala West frequently discover there’s nowhere decent to live, pushing them toward urban transfers at the first opportunity. It’s a vicious cycle: poor infrastructure drives teachers away, which tanks student performance, which makes the district even less attractive to quality educators.
Suwia’s solution centers on implementing Ghana’s long-discussed Deprived Area Incentive Policy. This approach would provide financial and professional incentives specifically designed to attract and retain teachers in underserved rural communities. The policy has existed in various forms for years, but implementation has lagged despite repeated promises.
President John Dramani Mahama recently announced plans to implement a 20% salary allowance for teachers in deprived areas, which would be paid monthly to educators willing to commit at least two years to classified deprived locations. Whether this materializes quickly enough to help Sissala West remains uncertain.
District officials haven’t resigned themselves to despair. Abdul Fuseini Gbene, identified as the Sissala West DCE in recent reports, disclosed that the Assembly has begun constructing new kindergarten blocks at Jeffisi and Buo using Common Fund allocations. The district is also collaborating with the area’s Member of Parliament to secure 14 additional GetFund projects aimed at expanding infrastructure.
Ten percent of the Common Fund allocation has reportedly been earmarked specifically for purchasing furniture, addressing one of the most visible shortcomings affecting students’ daily learning experiences.
On staffing, Gbene revealed plans to work with the MP in engaging the Ghana Education Service to recruit additional teachers. Critically, he emphasized prioritizing local candidates, arguing this strategy would naturally improve retention rates. “If most of our teachers were indigenous, they would stay longer in the district,” he noted, articulating what seems like common sense but has proven difficult to implement given centralized posting systems.
The district, located in the northeastern part of the Upper West Region with Gwollu as its administrative capital, covers approximately 1,814 square kilometers and shares a border with Burkina Faso to the north. Its 2021 population stood at 63,828 people.
Communities across Sissala West face broader development challenges beyond education, including poor road networks, inadequate digital access, and limited economic opportunities that drive youth migration to urban centers.
The education crisis reflects systemic issues affecting rural Ghana more broadly. Without meaningful incentives and improved living conditions, attracting qualified professionals to underserved areas will remain nearly impossible. For the children of Sissala West, that reality translates into diminished futures and perpetuated inequality.
Whether government promises about rural teacher allowances and infrastructure investments will materialize fast enough to reverse the 22% performance rate remains the district’s most pressing question.
