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Regional News of Thursday, 12 February 2004

Source: GNA

Community appeal for school block

Amotare-Island (E/R), Feb. 12, GNA- The people of Amotare-Island, a fishing community near Dedeso in the Fanteakwa District, have appealed to the Ghana Education Service (GES) to rehabilitate a dilapidated primary school and also post trained teachers to enhance effective teaching and learning.

The Local Authority Primary School, with an enrolment of more than 100 pupils, is manned by two pupil teachers.

The community made the appeal when the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Fanteakwa, Mr Ebenezer Ofoe Caesar, visited the area on Tuesday, to interact with the people to know their problems and how best to help them.

The chief of the village, Dademantse Odjao Buaolor, said due to the nature of the structure, many parents refused to send their wards to school.

He said the situation had compelled some parents to enrol their wards at schools in neighbouring communities, saying this had also resulted in truancy among the children as some take to petty trading at the expense of schooling.

One of the teachers, Mr Stephen Nartey, noted that due to the deplorable condition of the structure, school attendance was irregular. There was also difficulty in maintaining order among the pupils. He explained that the two of them had to engage the services of another person to help man the remaining two classes and that they were paying him from their own allowances.

The DCE gave the assurance that a new classroom block and a two-unit teachers' quarters would be built to attract teachers posted to the area and urged the chief to mobilize his people to offer communal labour for the project.

He said one of the priorities of the NPP government was to implement the FCUBE programme within its time frame and would not tolerate any impediments put in the way of any child to access education.