Prestea-Huni Valley(W/R) Aug. 5,GNA-The high numbers of untrained teachers in the Prestea-Huni Valley District (PHDA) was affecting the quality of education in the newly created district.

The district which was carved out of the former Wassa West district on February 29, 2008 presently has only 513 trained teachers and still needs 406 additional teachers to meet the basic education needs of the district.

A total of 477 untrained teachers are manning several classrooms in the district and this was not promoting effective teaching and learning in the district.

Mr. Robert W. Cudjoe, District Chief Executive of PHDA, who disclosed this at the second session of the assembly at Bogoso on Tuesday, said the district needs 7,302 pieces of furniture for its Kindergarten (KG), primary and Junior High School (JHS), with the KG alone requiring 1,575 pieces of furniture.

He said classroom blocks in the district were in very deplorable conditions and that there were several "under trees" classrooms as well as other temporary structures which have contributed to the poor performance of the pupils from the districts in Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

Mr. Cudjoe therefore appealed to mining companies and other institutions to come to the aid of the assembly as it struggles to provide the requisite furniture for schools in the district.

He said it was unfortunate that the Prestea-Huni Valley still relies on the use of pan latrines as a total of 128 of the unhygienic and old fashioned toilet units were still used within the district.

Mr. Cudjoe appealed to the environmental health unit of the assembly to phase out the pan latrines from the district.

He hinted that an additional market day on Tuesday has been proposed for consideration and the assembly hopes to generate more revenue when the day is accepted and instituted.

He noted that the lack of slaughter houses in Bogoso and Aboso, two major towns of the district, makes the slaughter of animals and the distribution of meat products in the district unhygienic and could lead to the spread of diseases.

Mr. Cudjoe said the assembly will soon establish these facilities to boost the consumption of hygienic meat and animal products in the district.

He cautioned spraying gangs engaged in the mass cocoa spraying exercise not to sell the fuel allocated to them.

Mr. Cudjoe said any attempt at diverting the fuel would lead to the arrest and prosecution of the individual and the gang involved.