The Upper East Regional Childhood Development Committee has raised concerns over the continued posting of teachers without early childhood education training to kindergarten and nursery schools.

According to the Committee, the situation had persisted over the years and continued to undermine the quality of care and education provided to young children at the foundational level.

The Committee indicated that the practice was negatively affecting childcare, development, and education in the region.

The Committee, therefore, called on government to take urgent steps to address the issue by ensuring that only trained early childhood educators were posted to kindergarten and nursery schools, where their expertise was most needed.

The concern was raised during the Committee’s first-quarter meeting for 2026, held in Bolgatanga and organised by the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council, with support from Children Believe.

The Committee comprised representatives from the Regional Coordinating Council, Departments of Gender, Children and Social Welfare and Community Development, the Ghana Education Service, Ghana Health Service, the Environment and Sanitation Unit, and civil society organisations.

The meeting discussed the newly launched Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Policy, development of the Committee’s 2026 work plan, and strategies for resource mobilisation.

Mrs Georgina Aberese-Ako, the Upper East Regional Coordinator of the Committee, noted that monitoring visits to some schools across the region revealed that many teachers handling kindergarten and nursery classes lacked the requisite training in early childhood education.

“There are many schools we have visited in the region, and we have realised that teachers who do not have training in early childhood education are handling kindergarten pupils, and this is affecting their development,” Mrs Aberese-Ako, who is also the Acting Regional Director of the Department of Children, stated.

Madam Yvonne Wonchua, Assistant Director at the Regional Coordinating Council, attributed the challenge to the centralised teacher posting system managed from Accra, which limits the authority of regional education directorates to influence postings based on local needs.

She stressed that the government’s proposed decentralisation of teacher postings to regional and district levels would be key to resolving the problem.

She urged government to expedite the process to address both the shortage of trained teachers and the inappropriate placement of unqualified personnel at the early childhood level.

The Committee also highlighted the lack of and deplorable infrastructure, as well as Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities, as major challenges affecting early childhood education in the region and called for urgent action to address them.

Mohammed Issahaku, the Chief Director of the Regional Coordinating Council and Chairman of the Committee, commended the stakeholders for their commitment to early childhood education in the region.

He called on the stakeholders to continue working together to address the challenges raised and improve care, teaching, and learning among children.