New Policy on Education will be landmark - JAK

Navrongo (U/E), Oct. 25, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Sunday said the New Education Policy to be introduced next year would be a landmark in the country's education.

He said it would reform and institutionalise quality in education. President Kufuor announced this at separate meetings with students of the Saint John Bosco Training College and the Navrongo Campus of the University for Development Studies (UDS) at Navrongo, on the first day of his three-day official tour of the Upper East Region.

He said infrastructure in schools would be modernised while there would be improvement and upgrading of Teacher Training Colleges to enable them to impart effective and efficient teaching and learning to their students. To the students of the UDS, President Kufuor told them that their current campuses were temporary and that modern and state-of-the -art infrastructure and facilities would be provided for them. He said it would take a few years to accomplish such desire and appealed to the students to exercise patience.

President Kufuor announced that the Spanish Government had offered 10 million dollars to improve facilities at the campuses of the UDS, adding, "this is the beginning, more assistance would follow soon". He said given the right leadership and support the Government could overcome the difficulties and hardships to bring about the effective socio-economic development of the country.

President Kufuor said it was necessary Ghana was ushered into the elections peacefully: "The decision made during elections in peace and fairness would be binding on the people to support the Government for the next four years".

He told the students that it was their future, which was being shaped and urged them to abide by the Constitution and exercise their franchise in the election, which was an evidence of their power as citizens.

"Be tolerant, exercise your voting rights in the power you have as a citizen of Ghana to vote for the right choice of candidates to govern the country", he said.

Professor John Kaburise, Vice Chancellor of the UDS, said the visit by President Kufuor was historic in the annals of the University. He said there had been considerable developments on the various campuses of the University under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government.

Professor Kaburise said there was potential in the evolution of people in the image of President Kufuor for the country's future. He pledged the commitment of the University Authorities to take their own initiative to help create the needed human resource for the country's development.

Mr Alfred Ndago, Principal of the Saint John Bosco Training College, said the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) was assisting the College with 1.6 billion cedis for the construction of a 24-unit Administration Block.

He said the College was established to train quality teachers for basic schools in the country but their efforts were being hampered by many problems.

Mr Ndago said most of their buildings were old and had become "death traps" and that the College lacked means of transport for effective supervision of their students' practical attachment. Other constraints were more staff bungalows and assistance to continue with the construction of a fence wall.