What We Do: Community Support Teachers
Every Classroom Needs a Teacher
Community Support Teachers (CSTs) were local volunteers recruited and trained by EQUALL to fill vacancies in understaffed primary schools in nine districts in the three northern regions.
Community Support Teachers received training in how to teach local language literacy, English and Mathematics, as well as lesson planning and class management.
The Ghana Education Service placed the Community Support Teachers in lower primary classes of understaffed schools. The head teachers of the schools were offered orientation to ensure that they could mentor and support volunteers.
Success
EQUALL identified, trained, posted and supported more than 460 volunteer Community Support Teachers in rural areas where it is challenging to recruit teachers.EQUALL undertook regular monitoring visits and refresher training to help Community Support Teachers apply and use their newly acquired teaching skills. EQUALL found that Community Support Teachers were especially effective when placed in Primary 1 and Primary 2 classrooms where their learners consistently outperformed learners being taught by regular school teachers.
The volunteer teachers received a modest stipend from EQUALL and some became certified teachers through the government’s distance learning program.
