Let's pay attention to children education - Director-General

Leklebi-Duga (V/R), June 24, GNA - Mr Samuel Bannerman-Mensah, Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), has said the anticipated benefits to be derived from the model school concept could not be attained unless attention was paid to children's education within the local setting.
In addressing this challenge, he said the mode of the computerized and placement system would be modified to assist students, who missed out on their first to fourth choices to have another option of selecting a fifth and sixth school in their locality.
He noted that the lack of interest shown by local towards formal education remained one of the challenges to development and growth of the second-cycle school system.
Mr Bannerman-Mensah said the concern was equity, quality and affordability; but it was equally worth noting that numbers was also important.
These were contained in an address read on his behalf of the Director-General at 40th Anniversary and Speech and Prize Giving Day of the Leklebi Senior High School at Leklebi-Duga under the theme; "Marching Onwards to Academic Excellence".
He said indigenes of school settings should play a leading role by first patronizing their local schools for it to attract the attention of other students and qualified staff.
Mr Bannerman-Mensah said the Government was responding to the needs of schools and added that additional facilities would be provided to serve their needs.
He said the Government was putting in a number of interventions to facilitate teaching and learning, including enhanced and extended scheme to service and the revision of remuneration for teachers; provision of means of transport for teachers on five-year flexible interest free payment scheme and the upgrading of teacher programmes and the expansion of training schools.
Others were the Capitation Grant; Ghana School Feeding Programme and the integration of kindergarten into the basic school system.
Professor Mawutor Avoke, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba, called in major actors including the Government; communities; teachers; parents and students to harness their resources and potentials for quality education to succeed.
Mr Thomas Odikro, Headmaster of LESEC, said the school did not have boys' dormitories, dining hall, administration block and staff bungalows.