According to a Teshie Camp 2 Primary and JHS teacher who wished to remain anonymous, many schools find it difficult to hire teachers with experience in dance and music, which can result in either poor training or, in some cases, the whole removal of these subjects from the curriculum.
Some instructors choose to teach the course despite having little to no experience in the field, and as a result, they are not very committed to presenting the material.
Students are thus denied the chance to hone their artistic abilities and broaden their comprehension of Ghanaian culture through experiential learning opportunities.
However, the instructor pointed out that some aspects of dance and music were included in the creative arts, which is what they often teach theory for. According to him, these dances are typically learned or performed seriously during school functions or cultural exhibits.
He requested that the Ghana Education Service designate a teacher to instruct the course and provide for refresher training for those who are willing to instruct students.
Godson Atsu Sorkpor, an artistic director of Performing Arts Intercessors and dance lecturer at the University of Ghana, also underlined the value of music and dance instruction in Ghanaian schools while highlighting the difficulties experienced by dance instructors.
“Sometimes the kind of money they want to pay the instructors is nothing to write home about,” expressed Sorkpor’s concerns about the gap in teacher pay. They move their hands, then jump, and that’s when they feel as though you’re banking your hands on the drums or anything else. However, there’s more to that.
“Sometimes when they write [to schools], and the school tells them okay, bring a budget, they write, send it to the school, but they don’t hear from the schools again, and it is really difficult,” Sorkpor said, addressing the difficulties faced by University of Ghana School of Performing Arts students looking for teaching opportunities during school breaks.
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