The Volta Regional Education Directorate has launched a three-day strategic capacity-building clinic for heads of Senior High Schools (SHSs) and Senior High Technical Schools (SHTSs) with a call for urgent and decisive action to reverse the region’s declining academic performance.

The clinic, attended by heads of all 68 SHSs and SHTSs in the region, is focused on strengthening school leadership, analysing performance data and equipping heads with practical strategies to improve learning outcomes.

Acting Volta Regional Director of Education, Jemima Marian Akua Adzroe, who made the call, described the region’s recent West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results as a matter of grave concern.

She said analysis of the 2023/2024 and, particularly, the 2025 WASSCE results showed a worrying downward trend in the progression rates from A1 to C6 in core subjects, especially Mathematics and Integrated Science.

According to her, 18 schools recorded zero progression rates in 2025, nine schools recorded progression rates close to one percent while more than 27 schools recorded progression rates below 12 percent.

Mrs Adzroe said the situation was not merely a statistical setback but one that could compromise the future of thousands of young people in the region.

“The status quo is entirely untenable, and our response must be immediate, structural and decisive,” she stated.

She added that the clinic had been designed around two major objectives—a comprehensive review of school performance and leadership reform for all 68 school heads and a targeted orientation for 20 newly appointed heads who would be leading schools whose students would write the WASSCE in 2027 under the new Senior High School/Senior High Technical School curriculum.

She indicated that each school head would, at the end of the clinic, develop a practical, data-driven turnaround action plan tailored to the specific challenges of his or her institution.

"This programme would go beyond academic performance to address leadership welfare, financial management, audit compliance, sanitation, environmental health and pension planning,” she noted.

She urged participants to take advantage of the health screening being provided by the Catholic Diocesan Health Team, stressing the physical and emotional wellbeing of school leaders is critical to effective leadership.

The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) welcomed the initiative and called for stronger institutional support for school heads and teachers to enable them to improve educational outcomes.

GNAT Volta Regional Secretary, Felix Owusu-Ansah, said the poor performance recorded by some schools should not be treated as the responsibility of the Education Directorate alone.

He said the situation required the collective efforts of school leaders, teachers, parents, learners, government, unions and other stakeholders.

“When schools report zero or extremely low progression, we must not only ask who is responsible; we must ask what we can collectively do differently to change the situation,” he said.

Mr Owusu-Ansah stressed that data-driven management would only be useful if school heads were empowered to understand the data and translate it into practical interventions.

He assured the Regional Education Directorate of GNAT’s readiness to collaborate on initiatives aimed at improving the professional development, welfare and working conditions of teachers.

The Ghana National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) also called for greater autonomy and institutional backing for school heads to enforce discipline and implement policies in their respective schools.

NAGRAT Volta Regional Chairman, William Kwame Ahiave, said the authority given to school heads is critical to maintaining discipline which in turn contributes to improved academic performance.

He expressed concern that some heads are sometimes unable to enforce disciplinary measures for fear of intervention or reprimand from higher authorities.

According to him, measures such as dismissal and withdrawal were provided for within the education system but school heads are sometimes constrained from applying them when necessary.

“This workshop will be meaningless if we do not allow our heads the freedom and support to implement what they will learn during these three days" he warned.

Mr Ahiave said the three-day clinic would have limited impact if school heads were not given the freedom, support and confidence to implement the strategies they acquired.

“Our heads know their schools, they know their challenges, and they know what needs to be done. What they need is the support, authority and confidence to act,” he said.

He expressed optimism that if school heads received the necessary institutional support, the impact of the interventions could begin to reflect in improved academic performance within the next two years.

He therefore appealed to teachers, parents, traditional authorities, education authorities, teacher unions, communities and government to support school heads in their efforts to restoring discipline and improving teaching and learning.

The clinic is expected to provide a platform for participants to develop practical and measurable strategies to address academic underperformance and strengthen institutional leadership across senior high and senior high technical schools in the Volta Region.

Mrs Adzroe urged participants to approach the three-day engagement with commitment and determination to restore the academic excellence and operational standards for which the region has historically been known.

“Let us approach these three days with confidence, rigour and an unyielding commitment to restore the academic pride and operational excellence for which the Volta Region is historically known,” she said.

Meanwhile, the District Chief Executive for Adaklu and the Dean of all municipal and district chief executives, Jerry Ameko , has assured that government is committed to providing a conducive environment for teaching and learning and is doing everything possible to provide classroom blocks and furniture to all schools across the Volta Region. 

“Government under the leadership of his Excellency John Dramani Mahama is very committed to improving the educational sector of our country and very soon the story will change,” he disclosed.

He was optimistic that with the collaboration from the stakeholders and the municipal and district assemblies, the educational fortunes of the region will change.