Effects of educational resource deprivation on basic education delivery in Wassa Amenfi East Municipality (2)

Abstract

This study examined the effects of deprivation on the quality of basic education delivery in the Wassa Amenfi East Municipality. The research was anchored on the Input- Process-Output (IPO) Theory and Human Capital Theory. Employing a quantitative approach and a descriptive survey design, the study targeted a population of 381 teachers across 37 schools in four selected circuits. A sample size of 196 respondents was determined using the Yamane (1967) formula, with participants selected through proportionate stratified and simple random sampling techniques. Data were collected using a close-ended questionnaire on a 4-point Likert scale and analyzed with IBM SPSS (v.27) and Microsoft Excel (2021) using frequencies, means, standard deviations, and Pearson Correlation. The findings revealed that public basic schools in the municipality are significantly deprived in terms of infrastructure, teacher availability, and teaching-learning materials. While these deprivation levels had a marginal impact on individual teacher delivery, the study found a strong negative correlation between deprivation and student outcomes; specifically, as deprivation increases, both academic performance and pupil attendance rates significantly decrease. It was concluded that while teachers remain resilient, the physical and material deprivation of schools creates a barrier to student success that requires urgent policy intervention to ensure equitable education delivery, Consequently, it is recommended that the Ghana Education Service (GES) should provide targeted grants for infrastructure in deprived areas and implement continuous professional development to sustain teacher motivation.