Families cautioned against Western life-styles

Sekondi, March 15, GNA- Mrs. Gladys Asmah, Minister of Women and Children's Affairs (MOWAC) has said that with the computer technology, several Ghanaian families have adopted western lifestyles to the detriment of our traditional customs and values.

She said, "due to the economic situations, many Ghanaian mothers are compelled to seek employment thereby relegating their roles in the training of their children to maids.

These were contained in an address read for her by Mr. Kofi Poku-Adusei, the Deputy Minister, at an open day of the Sekondi Holy child College as part of the education week celebrations of the College. It had the theme "Girl-Child Education, a vital tool for the building up of a strong human resource" on Saturday.

She said the situation was unfortunate and urged parents to find better alternatives for the upbringing of their children especially the girl-child.

Mrs. Asmah urged parents to give equal educational opportunities to their boys girls without discriminating against each other. She noted that the government's policy on girl-child education is an attempt to ensure the total development of the potentials of women in general.

Mrs. Angelina Kutin Tandoh, Vice-Principal of the College in her welcoming address, said that teachers are expected to bring light into the life of people by guiding them to acquire knowledge and become disciplined.

She expressed regret that the current world order places little emphasis on teachers and their profession and suggested that such negative attitude tended to demoralize teachers.

Mrs. Tandoh said education is aimed at equipping individuals to unearth their intellectual, physical, cultural, moral and spiritual abilities and develop such talents to the advantage of the nation. "When girls are adequately and properly educated, their natural gifts of care and compassion, would go to benefit the entire nation," she added.

Mr. Joseph C. Quansah, a retired educationist said discrimination against the education of girls has been a tradition within the Ghanaian society and called on the present generation, to reverse the trend. He said most women in management positions perform better than their male counterparts and appealed to the general public to encourage and honour women who perform exceedingly well in their field of endeavour. 15 March 04