Sunyani, May 16, GNA - Vice President John Dramani Mahama at the weekend outlined government plans to support the Islamic Education Unit to catch up with other religious education sectors. The support , he said would include the provision of Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to the unit to develop infrastructure, posting of qualified teachers and the certification of the Arabic Language to meet world standards.

"We will provide support to enhance the quality of education in Islamic schools by identifying Arabic Language teachers.as well as supporting the development of a standard curriculum."

Vice President Mahama gave the assurance when he addressed the fifth Annual National Conference of the Islamic Education Unit at Sunyani as part of his two-day official visit to the Brong Ahafo Region. The conference on the theme: "Redefining Islamic Educational Unit; A remedy for fallen standards," attracted more than 300 participants from the 10 regions.

It was aimed at ensuring that Islamic Education moved towards global trends and ran at par with other educational units in terms of growth and development in the coming years.

The Vice President called for co-operation between the government on one side and parents and Islamic community leaders on the other to increase enrolment and retention of Muslim children in schools.

"Times when Muslim children were denied formal education are past and I will like to call on parents and Islamic scholars to take special interest in the education of your wards to grow up to become self-reliant." He said government would not only help construct new Islamic schools, but would also expand the existing facilities and provide qualified teachers in all their Junior and Senior High schools throughout the country. "Education is a shared responsibility among many stakeholders and I will challenge you to play your roles effectively for the total benefit of the country."

Mr. Yussif Imoru, Brong Ahafo Regional Manager of the Islamic Education Unit appealed to the government to assist the unit with vehicles to enable them to effectively supervise teachers in the area to perform better. He also enumerated inadequate government grants, apathy and lukewarm attitude of parents towards the education of their wards as some of the challenges of the Unit. 16 May 10