Help Check Encroachment On School Lands - President

From Winston Tamakloe, Hohoe

Traditional rulers must liaise with school authorities on the sale of lands to avoid encroachment on school  lands, the President,  John Agyekum Kufuor, has advised.

He deplored the spate of encroachment on school lands saying that the encroachment stalled the expansion of affected schools.

These were contained in an address read on his behalf at the centenary celebration of St. Francis Training College here on Saturday.

It was on the theme: 'The impact of Catholic discipline on teachers'.

President Kufuor noted that since traditional rulers were custodians of the land, they were obliged to protect them to allow for infrastructural development in institutions of learning.

He underscored the importance of education as a major factor in the nation's socio-economic development with the teacher playing a central role.

“Government is undertaking various programmes that are aimed at building the teacher's capacity and upgrading the 38 teacher training colleges into diploma awarding institutions.”

The President said the ongoing sandwich programme to upgrade Certificate 'A' teachers to diploma status was one of the steps being taken to enhance the production of high-calibre teachers who would implement the new educational reform to address the lapses inherent in past reforms.

President Kufuor said through the GETFund, various infrastructural developments were ongoing in the training colleges and pledged the government's dedication, commitment and determination to tackle the residential accommodation problems in the colleges.

The Most Reverend Francis Lodonu, Bishop of the Ho Diocese, assured government of sustaining the state and church relationship to accelerate national socio-economic development.

The church, he said, would also sustain the injection of discipline in the society and called for support.

Bishop Lodonu appealed to the government to upgrade the college to a University College of Education in the region to produce more specialists in education.

D.M.K. Agbenuvor, principal of the college, urged the government to expedite action on the computer laboratory in order to promote the teaching of Information Communication and Technology as outlined in the New Education Reform programme.

He also appealed for an assembly hall complex for the college.

Togbega Gabusu VI, president of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs, expressed appreciation for the high quality of students produced by the college since its inception despite its numerous challenges.

J.K. Benyingi, chairman of the Old Franciscans Association appealed to all old students to support the college with some of its needs in order to achieve its goals.