Chief Executive expresses worry about use of foreign songs

Koforidua, July 16, GNA- Nana Adjei-Boateng, New Juaben Municipal Chief Executive has expressed concern over the use of foreign songs and dances to perform choreography at schools.

He said: "all school activities should encourage the children to appreciate our own culture," and added that "adowa", "kete", "kpanlogo" and other Ghanaian dances could be used to perform the choreography. Nana Adjei-Boateng who expressed this at the first ever open-day of the Sarkodee basic schools in Koforidua after they had performed a choreography said education from the beginning must build the sense of patriotism in the children.

Recently choreography has become one of the main activities at speech and prize giving days, open days and other school functions using mostly South African lyrics and dances to perform. Nana Adjei-Boateng commended the leadership of the school for organizing the programme after 50 years of its existence and urged the parents to show more interest in their wards' education.

He indicated that government could provide the entire needed infrastructure but if parents failed to collaborate with the teachers it would be difficult to achieve the desired results. Nana Adjei-Boateng told the parents that their responsibility was beyond buying uniforms and providing logistics and urged them to visit their wards in the schools and find out how they were faring. The headmistress of the school, Ms Esther Fianko, said it was sad that most parents did not visit the school or even attended programmes meant for them as far as their wards' education was concern. She appealed for a fence wall around the school compound to protect lives and property since the absence of it had opened the school to all sorts of indecent activities even during school hours. Ms Fianko revealed that the situation had resulted in the theft of teachers bags from the classroom.

She later opened an exhibition of creative works by the students. The Sarkodee School was established in 1938 by a Koforidua based philanthropist, Mr Sarkodee Addo, at the premises of the Regional hospital and was later taken over by Government and relocated at its present site to make way for the construction of the hospital.