Schools that score 100% at BECE to be rewarded

Aburi(E/R),Oct.13, GNA - The Ministry of Education and Sports is to reward basic schools which score 100 per cent with aggregates six to 10 at next year's Basic Education Certificate Examination(BECE). This was announced by Mrs Angelina Baiden-Amissah, Deputy Minister of Education and Sports in-charge of Basic and Teacher Education, at the Akuapem Education Day celebration on Wednesday at Aburi. However, she did not elaborate on the reward.

The day was marked with a stakeholders forum on education in Akuapem organized by the Akuapem Education Foundation (AEF) under the theme, "Quality Education for a better Akuapem- Beyond BECE there is Second cycle".

Mrs Baiden-Amissah called on District Chief Executives in the Akuapem North and South Districts to initiate legal actions against the managements of pineapple plantations and quarries in the area who employed children on their farms and project sites which discouraged the pupils from going to school.

She made it clear that institution of the Capitation Grant did not mean parents could not assist schools of their children and therefore, urged parents to find means of motivating teachers to perform better.

Mrs Baiden-Amissah advised parents to have children they could adequately cater for and advised them to live up to their responsibilities and support their children in school.

She advised heads of institutions to give written warnings to their subordinates who refused to perform and send copies to the local offices of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) in order that when they applied sanctions, they could get the support of GNAT. Mrs Baiden-Amissah called for the dismissal of drunkards from the teaching service and advised the replacement of non-performing school heads.

She appealed to Akuapem citizens to construct decent houses and rent them out to teachers posted to deprived areas so that the teachers could stay in the community and help in the development of the school and the area.

The Deputy Minister of Defence, Mr William Ofori Boafo who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Akropong, deplored the falling standards in education in the Akuapem area.

He said the situation was worrisome when compared to the role people from Akuapem had played in education in the country. Mr Boafo said the fact that most schools in the area had been scoring zero per cent at the BECE for some years now was an indication that something was really wrong with the educational system in Akuapem area and called for efforts to reverse the trend.

He warned that failure on the part of adults to invest and demonstrate interest in education would lead to more problems to society and lost of opportunities to future generations. Mr Boafo suggested a house-to-house public education on the Grant and the need for parents to enrol their children in schools and help the pupils to be in school.

Mr Magnus Opare-Asamoah, Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways and Member of Parliament for Akuapem South, appealed to the citizens to invest in education.

He said their contributions should not only be in monetary terms but encouragement to the pupils to stay in school, teachers and parents to play the role expected of them could help address the situation.