Assessment of multigrade schools in the Asunafo North district of the Brong Ahafo region

Abstract

Multigrade schools refer to schools which combine different classes in the same classroom setting. The Asunafo North District in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana has 17 of such schools. Multigrade schools become necessary where teachers are in short supply or where enrolment figures are so low that they cannot justify the appointment of teachers for separate classes especially in the remote and hard-to-reach areas. The study sought to have an in depth assessment of multigrade schools in the Asunafo North District. The conditions, operations and perceptions of schools having the multigrade system in the district were examined. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study and data were collected from 153 respondents through questionnaires and interview guides. Dominantly used was the purposive sampling and a limited use of random sampling technique. There were both open-ended and closed-ended items in the questionnaire. Questions with the Likert scale type responses were also used. Multigrade schools in the district were mainly opened by the District Directorate of Education and the reasons for opening them were similar to those outlined above. Learning resources were woefully inadequate. Both the trained and untrained teachers did not have the requisite pedagogical skills, innovative teaching methods and strategies for running multigrade schools. It was recommended, among others, that the District Directorate of Education should as a matter of urgency train teachers and support the schools with basic learning resources. In addition, sufficient teaching and learning materials for pupils and teachers as well as incentive packages for teachers need to be provided to improve the qualities of these schools.