Accra, Oct. 16, GNA - The Ghana National Commission for UNESCO under its Associated Schools Programme Network (ASPNet) on Thursday inaugurated a Musical and Cultural Centre for all ASPNet schools in the country at the Garrison 5 Basic School in Burma Camp. ASPNet was created in 1953 to promote UNESCO's ideals of peace coexistence and the continuous provision of quality education in schools. It is operational in more than 7,900 schools in over 176 countries. In the country, it is operational in 127 schools, ranging from basic to tertiary school.

Speaking at the presentation, Mrs. Charity Amamoo, Secretary-General of the Commission, said Garrison 5 Basic was chosen as the centre because it came first in a sub-regional choral competition organised by ASPNet in Lome, Togo, in 2005. "We then saw the need to establish this 15,000 US dollars Music and Cultural Centre with recording facilities where our schools could go and practice their own songs, record and share with other children of the world in peace." She expressed her appreciation to all ASPNet school coordinators for their contribution towards the success of the project. In a message read on her behalf, Mrs Angelina Baiden-Ammissah, Deputy Minister for Education, Science and Sports, lauded the prominence given to local languages and our culture in the new syllabus for basic schools.

"We believe that our culture and the use of our local languages are the most efficient way of integrating children into their culture and making them also appreciate our cultural values," she explained. The Deputy Minister thanked UNESCO for establishing an ICT Centre for its Associated Schools at Osu Home Schools and appealed to them to expand the facility to other parts of the country. Lieutenant Colonel Robert Adwini, Chief Garrison Education Officer, advised the pupils to be studious, respectful and disciplined in all that they did and also cherish the cultural values of where they came from.

The programme which was interspersed with musical and cultural performances also saw awards being presented to retired ASPNet schools coordinators and pupils who excelled in a drawing, poem and essay competition organised by UNESCO on Planet Earth.