Rawlings calls for effective management of resources

Accra (Greater Accra) 8 March ?99

President Jerry John Rawlings on Saturday expressed his dissatisfaction with the management of resources at all levels of the education system and called for an improvement. He said the government accepts that there are imperfections in the education sector. However, situations where some schools lack materials while the needed items are in warehouses or even find their way into local shops and markets have to be addressed, he said.

At a parade by school children and some voluntary organisations at the Independence Square to mark the 42nd anniversary of Ghana's independence, the President said, "There are imperfections, and while it is right that the government should shoulder its fair share of criticism and responsibility as we endeavour to build a system which will give every child, and not just a privileged few, access to education, there are responsibilities which we must all share. "Education is not the sole business of government, the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service and the District school authorities. It is the business of all of us."

President Rawlings spoke about the Kushea Junior Secondary School, in the Northern Region which, recorded bad results in the 1997 Basic Education Certificate Examination and said the people of the town could have blamed government. Instead, the chiefs, elders, opinion leaders, parents and the entire community got together to examine the problem and took steps to correct it.

"Whereas in the 1997 examination not a single candidate attained the minimum grade for SSS entry, in 1998, 92 per cent of the pupils qualified. "The people of Kushea solved their problem by coming together with unity of purpose. Any community can do this."

The President expressed regret that many fall short of this ideal even though it would be the most cost-effective way of raising the standards of basic education. "Let me, therefore, use this occasion to call on all community leaders, chiefs, parents, Assembly Members, Unit Committees and responsible citizens to play their part in ensuring the effective use of our modest education resources." President Rawlings said the theme for this year's celebration, "Peace, Unity and Development - Challenges of the New Millennium", sends a reminder that development could only take place within a peaceful and stable political and social environment. He said peace on the domestic front is closely linked with unity and a shared national purpose.

"As Ghanaians, we treasure our rich diversity of culture. We all have our loyalties our respective ethnic roots, our traditional systems, our religious beliefs. "But unless diversity is held together by an overriding sense of the general good of society and a national vision, it has the potential to threaten our unity." President Rawlings appealed to Ghanaians to rededicate themselves to their country. "Together, in peace and unity, we can achieve the national development and prosperity which we wish to hand to future generations" he added. Similar parades were held in the regional and district capitals.