Parents urged to encourage children to study hard

Kumasi, July 3, GNA - Mrs Stella Mercy Adomah, Head teacher of the Mmofraturo Preparatory School in Kumasi has urged parents to encourage their children to study very hard instead of various plans of sending them abroad.

She said it was good to reveal such plans or intentions to their children if the opportunities were there but it should be done in such a way that children would not lose concentration on their studies with such attractive future plans.

Mrs Adomah was speaking at the third and fourth graduation ceremony for Stage Six and Kindergarten (KG) State Two of the school in Kumasi on Saturday.

She said, "Promises by parents to send their wards overseas disturb some children as they at times cannot concentrate on their studies because they are always preoccupied with the promise from their parents".

The Head teacher urged parents and guardians not to give large sums of money to their children or wards to spend at school since the practice did not only encourage display of wealth but also induced stealing from those who did not have enough.

Mrs Adomah stressed the need for parents to visit the school regularly and interact with the teachers and the school authorities to know the performance of their children and other issues concerning the welfare and development of the school.

The Right Reverend Joseph Kow Takyi-Ansah, Superintendent Minister of Ayigya Circuit of the Methodist Church, advised parents not to be very repressive on their children when they go wrong. He said children must be given the freedom to contribute to moral judgement and other major decision-making issues in the family so that they could become useful citizens.

Rt. Rev Takyi-Ansah, who is also the acting Methodist Bishop of Kumasi, called for a massive courtesy campaign in the country for children, saying, "We are now living in a society which is gradually loosing its cultural values. Children do not respect the elderly, the people do not pay heed to our cultural norms in the society". He charged parents to ensure the proper spiritual, physical, educational and social goals of their children so that they grow to become responsible citizens.

The children mounted sketches on social and religious lives, poetry recitals and cultural displays. Thirty-six pupils in KG and 150 in primary six were presented with prizes and certificates as having completed their levels of study. 3 July 05