Scholarships to 1,000 children

New Edubiase (Ashanti Region) 5 March 2003 - President John Kufuor has directed District Assemblies to award at least 1,000 scholarships to brilliant but needy children particularly those in the rural areas.

Though details of the directives were not outlined, the President said concentration must be in the hinterlands where poverty was rife and educational performance was abysmal.

This was contained in a speech read on behalf of Mr Dominic Yeboah, Adansi East District Chief Executive at the teachers' awards day celebration held at New Edubiase.

The DCE noted that some parents had misplaced priorities where the education of their children was concerned and that they did not take the education of their children with the seriousness it deserved.

He said even though it was true that the economic conditions at present were harsh and had adverse effect on parents, it was equally true that some parents wilfully reneged on their responsibility to their children's education.

"The purchase of expensive funeral clothes, expenditure on drinks takes much prominence over our children's education. But our greatest asset worth investing in is our children's education," he said.

Yeboah said the assembly, in collaboration with the District Education Office had rejuvenated all institutional structures and processes aimed at improving educational performance in the district.

He, therefore, appealed to the District Education Office to strengthen structures like the Parent/Teacher Association (PTA), School Management Committees (SMCs) and others to enhance performance.

Yeboah advised teachers to demonstrate extreme patience in handling the kids that had been entrusted into their care. The teacher, who holds the cane and chalk to mould a child's character could be more dangerous than a soldier who wields a weapon if he chose to renege on his responsibilities, he said.

A. Kofi Britwum, Ashanti Regional Director of Education told teachers who were posted to the rural areas not to regard their transfers as punishment but should see the transfers as a challenge and also regard themselves as agents of change.

He said the GES and Ministry of Education had added incentives for teachers in the rural areas, and would give them priority in the granting of study leave with pay.

Henry Atsu of Sapomso Local Authority Primary School won the best teacher award in the primary division and received a 14-inch colour television. James B. Kaakyire of the Akwansrem Local Authority Junior Secondary School won at the junior secondary school level and got a 20-inch colour TV while Samuel Mensah won the best worker award.