More than three thousand children aged between eight and fourteen in the Sekyere Afram Plains District of the Ashanti Region are out of school.

This makes the district the highest with school dropout rate in the region, a situation authorities admit is worrying.

The number forms part of a nationwide figure of 79, 117 out-of-school children.

Unavailable or poor school infrastructure in some parts of the region are some of the factors that keep children out of school.

In the Sekyere Afram Plains District, children have to walk between 10 and 18 kilometers to and from schools outside their own communities.

Many of the children who are of Northern origin, abandon school to help their parents on their farms.

Though there are growing numbers of children who stay out school in the Ashanti region, Drobonso has hit a record high, with education authorities going sleepless on the matter.

Regional Director of Education, Kofi Sarfo Kantanka, tells Nhyira News the situation is of serious concern to the directorate.

”Our figures indicate that there are a number of children of school-going age who are not in school but the Drobonso area is peculiar; it’s around 3000 even though we have patches throughout the region. This is too much. It is a matter of concern to us” Mr. Sarfo Kantanka said.

It is in this regard that Mr. Kantanka has hailed the introduction of the Complementary Basic Education Preogramme as an alternative to solving the problem of children who are out of school.

“Is quite challenging but we are not blaming the parents for not sending their children to school. We go to them and learn of their problem. That is why we discussed with our development partners who agreed to sponsor this [Complementary Basic Education] project.”

The Complementary Basic Education Programme has been launched at Drobonso in the Sekyere Afram Plains District.

Non-governmental organization, Care International, has been contracted by government of Ghana to develop and transition out-of-school children into mainstream school system.

The accelerated literacy and numeracy approach under the Complementary Basic Education Programme being implemented in 43 districts, including Sekyere Afram Plains with funding from the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

About 900 children are being taught in four local languages for nine months after which they will be integrated into the formal school system.

CARE International is providing bicycles to beneficiary students who commute long distances to their schools, and motorbikes to volunteers.

The organization is also working on a similar programme in the Mamprusi East and West Districts of the Northern region.

The CBE Programme provides proportionate opportunities to both sexes, with at least 60 per cent of beneficiary children expected to achieve minimum proficiency standards in numeracy and literacy in their mother language.

With the help of 36 volunteers serving as supervisors, 900 children are expected to benefit from the first phase of the project in the Sekyere Afram Plains District, with 2,100 in excess.

Project Manager of the Complementary Basic Education Program, George Kwasi Appiah says CARE International is working closely with the District Assembly, education office as well as the District Education Oversight Committees to mitigate some of the factors against children education.

“If the schools are far away, how do we start a school close to these communities; how do we sustain their interest after transitioning. We need to bridge that gap,” Mr. Appiah said.