Under the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) 150 community education teaching assistance have been recruited and posted to basic schools in the Central Gonja District. This had resulted in the re-opening of 25 basic schools, which had been closed down due to the shortage of teachers in the District. Some of the communities the teachers were posted included Yala, Kpelgnsi, Seidupe and Kungu. Mr. Zakariah Yakubu, Central Gonja District Chief Executive (DCE), disclosed this at the second ordinary session of the Assembly in Buipe on Tuesday. He said the situation had improved the teacher/pupil ratio from 1:57 to 1:30. He said under the Youth in Agriculture, 174 youth were recruited to cultivated 250 acres of cowpea and 220 acres of maize last year. The DCE said 35 youth had also been recruited under the community police and were awaiting posting to assist the only 18 police personnel in the district while 35 youth had been employed under the waste and sanitation management programme. The DCE expressed concern about the standard of education in the district and noted that last year out of 476 candidates who sat for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) only 167 representing 35 per cent qualified for the Senior High Schools this year. He said out of those who qualified only 127 pupils, representing 27 per cent gained admission. He said the Assembly in collaboration with the government and its development partners were improving upon educational infrastructure in the district and mentioned the construction of four teachers' quarters at Sankpala and Fulfulso Junction, while two teachers quarters had also been completed at Buipe. Mr. Yakubu said four three-classroom blocks are under construction at Buipe, Jalape, Sankpala and Lito, while 1, 900 dual desk had also been supplied to schools district wide. Mr. Yakubu said the EU Micro-projects programme, which begun in the district last year was also constructing a three-classroom block at Kpasera and two teachers' quarters at Yapei and Kusawgu. The DCE said the district had no medical doctor, adding that until the introduction of the NYEP, the number of nurses working in health institutions in the district was 38 bringing the nurse/patient ratio to 1:2,342. He said the Assembly was sponsoring 34-trainee nurses who would be posted to augment the staffing situation in the District. The DCE said, a nurse's quarters was being constructed at Yapei under the EU Micro-projects while the construction of rural clinics was also going on under the Community Based Rural Development Programme (CBRDP) at Mankpang and Chama. A Maternity block was also under construction at the Buipe clinic while an American Peace Corp volunteer was sourcing funding for the construction of a maternity and child health centre at Lito. Mr. Ibrahim Abudu, Presiding Member of the Assembly said the district was faced with a number of challenges, which included deforestation, cattle rustling, guinea worm infestation, low enrolment in schools and insecurity and urged the assembly members to contribute effectively in the Assembly's deliberations towards finding solutions to the problems. Source: GNA