Accra, Aug. 6, GNA - Mr Christian Anku, Head-teacher of the Natural Brains Academy at Pobiman near Amasaman in the Ga West Municipality, said public and private schools were partners in providing quality education to all children in Ghana.

In this regard, he said, government must extend the laptop per child policy and supply of free textbooks to private schools which were located a= t less developed communities to promote teaching and learning. Mr Anku, who made the appeal at the Fifth Anniversary and Graduation ceremony of the school on Saturday, called on government to help organise in-service training for teachers in the private schools. Speaking on the theme: 93The Role of Parents in the New Educational Reform," Mr Anku said parents had a major role to play in providing the educational needs of their children to make them effective in school. He said the provision of textbooks, exercise books and story books to children enhanced their academic performance. He said the school was established in September, 2006, as a community-based school with two children, but currently has a population of over 300 children with 15 teaching and four non-teaching staff. It operates from cr=E8che to primary five and plans are far advanced t= o have a primary six next academic year.

Mr Anku said the school aimed at putting up a Junior High School in 2012, and that a plot of land had been acquired through the help of the chief and is elders of community.

He said Management and the Parent-Teacher Association of the school intended to put up a modern school building with library, ICT Centre and Science Laboratory and appealed to philanthropists, non-governmental organisations and members of the society to assist them to provide a comfortable place for the future leaders. He mentioned payment of school fees as a major challenge that confronted the school and called on parents to endeavour to pay the fees, warning that from next academic year, any child who owed school fees for more than two terms would be dismissed.

The Head-teacher stated that any child who may absent him or herself from school for more than two weeks would be dismissed because such attitudes affected performance and made teaching very difficult. Mr Anku expressed appreciation to the staff of the school for their hard work which had brought the institution to its present status. Reverend Michel Zuucoco, Guest speaker, asked parents to provide decen= t sleeping places for their children to prevent from roaming recklessly in th= e community at night and also give them nutritious food to enhance their growth and their learning capabilities.

He urged the parents to seek early medical attention for their childre= n when they were sick to avoid worsening their health situation. Rev. Zuucoco said when children were denied education their future became bleak and disturbed and entreated parents to provide the needs of their children to enhance teaching and in learning at school.