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Regional News of Sunday, 24 October 2004

Source: GNA

Abetifi men's league offer scholarship to 163 children

Abetifi, Oct. 24, GNA - The Abetifi Men's League (AML) a benevolent society made up of male citizens of the town has awarded a one year scholarship to 163 needy but brilliant basic school children at the cost of 50 million cedis at its 9th scholarship awards day held at Abetifi at the weekend.

The school children who were selected from the all the nine primary and junior Secondary Schools received 100,000 cedis each to settle their school fees for the year while the 108 teachers in the schools received a wall clock each as an incentive to supplement government's efforts to improve the standard of education in the town. The United States of America branch of the AML had also donated a quantity of books worth 101 million cedis for distribution to the Senior Secondary School, a Technical and Vocational Schools and the Presbyterian University College at Abetifi to enhance teaching and learning.

The President of AML, Mr William Attah Yeboah, said 123 school children have benefited from the scholarship scheme for the past nine years while teachers in the various schools have also received items like standing fans, cassette radios and wall clocks to motivate them to enhance basic education in the town.

He said though past governments tried in various ways to provide equal opportunity for the education of the country's children lack of school infrastructure, quality of teachers and poor supervision by the Ghana Education Service have affected the performances of rural school children in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). The President of the league appealed to the Ministry of Education and District Assemblies to provide adequate infrastructure to ensure quality teaching in the rural areas by organizing regular seminars and workshops for teachers to upgrade their knowledge.

He advised parents to avoid acquiring unnecessary personal effects and use their limited resources to educate their children since the future development of the nation depend on them.

The AML constructed a 70 million cedis 22-seater ultra modern water closet place of convenient with a 30,000-litre capacity underground water reservoir with the European Union (EU) assistance for the town in 1998 while an 11.5 million cedis electronic signboard had been erected in the town.

In an address read on his behalf, the Eastern Regional Minister, Dr Francis Osafo Mensah, commended the AML for Assisting the needy but brilliant school children who could not have completed their basic education and urged Chiefs, individuals, groups and other Kwahu citizens to support the AML to extend the scholarship scheme to school children in deprived areas.

He also urged them to extend the scheme to include incentive to teachers in deprived areas to enhance their performances to improve the standard of education.

In address read on her behalf, the Minister of Education In-charge of Basic Education, Ms Christine Churcher, advised the children to avoid watching video shows when they should be studying and pre-marital sex until they become responsible adults.

The Chief of Abetifi, Nana Asiedu Agyemang III, said the AML would be given the needed support to undertake more development projects, which would create employment to the youth.