A retired educationalist in Sunyani, Madam Florence Sekyeraa, has advised parents to stop misusing their incomes at the expense of their children’s education.

Parents and guardians, she said, must spend much of their income on the education of their children and wards, because that holds the key to their future job security and livelihood.

Madam Sekyeraa in an interview with the Ghana News Agency complained that parents engaged in unnecessary expenditure, like the purchase of expensive creams to bleach their bodies, instead of spending the monies to provide formal education for their children.

She noted that failure of some parents to support their children’s education had contributed and kept on contributing to the falling standards of education in the country.

Madam Sekyeraa, who taught for 40 years, expressed concern about the development of education in the country, and urged all stakeholders to assist in promoting good education for the youth as future leaders.

She mentioned lack of adequate teaching materials and infrastructure as some of the major factors contributing to the poor performance in the country’s education, and appealed to government and all stakeholders to help salvage the situation

The retired educationist pleaded with teachers to remain committed, despite the challenges facing the education sector and rather put in more efforts to prepare the children to become responsible adults.

She appealed to operators in the advertising industry to stop advertisement of alcoholic drinks on the television, saying that it negatively influence the youth to engage in excessive drinking which tend destroy their potentials.

Madam Sekyeraa announced that her individual contribution to raise educational standards in Brong-Ahafo, is that she has built international partnership with Croyland Primary School in England for an educational exchange programme.

Under the programme, she explained, beneficiary teachers in Ghana would travel to England to acquaint themselves with different cultures, enrich and update their knowledge and skills in teaching while those from England would also come to Ghana, specifically Brong-Ahafo for the same purpose.

She said five teachers from the Region have already had the experience from England and is impacting positively on their respective schools, adding that those selected teachers also returned with teaching and learning materials like reading books, computers, projectors and other teaching aids to support their schools.

Madam Sekyeraa added that under the agreement five needy children were also adopted from every selected school to be offered financial support from the basic school to the Senior High School level.

She hoped the programme could be extended to other regions in the country and asked other philanthropist to support it financially for more schools, pupils and students to benefit.

Mrs. Stella Benewaa Danso, Headmistress of one of the beneficiary schools said the programme had also helped to check truancy in the school and also increased enrolment.

Ms Katie Levis and Ms Samantha Mitchel from Croyland Primary School currently in the country for the programme, expressed their satisfaction about the experience they have gained.