Muslim parents urged to contribute to education fund

Akosombo, Dec 11, GNA - The Asuogyaman District branch of the Ghana Muslim Education Fund (GMEF) was launched at Akosombo on Saturday with a call on Muslim parents and institutions to contribute generously to the fund. The National Executive Director of the fund, Alhaji Ismaila Abdul Karim who launched the fund, said it was not meant to use secular education to play down on Islamic education.

"The problem that we seek to solve, once and for all, is to address the imbalance between the two forms of education - Arabic/secular, among Muslims and to prepare the youth adequately to face the Information Communication and Technology (ICT) age." Alhaji Karim reminded Muslims that investing in education was "the legacy that both the giver and receiver have never regretted embarking upon, no matter its level of attainment and utilisation." He said the Asuogyaman District branch was the second to be inaugurated after that of the New Juaben Municipality that, after only four months of existence, has 12 beneficiaries in the universities, polytechnics and teacher training colleges.

Mr Kofi Osei Ameyaw, the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industries, who is also the MP for Asuogyaman, commended the initiators of the fund.

He donated five million cedis to the Fund and pledged periodic counterpart contributions to match every five million cedis the people contributed in the district.

The President of the Coalition of Muslim Organisations of Ghana (COMOG), Major Issah Mohammed (RTD), said it would support the Fund to increase Muslim scholarship. He appealed to Muslim parents, especially women, to divert more of their money spent on purchasing ornaments and consumables to the education of their children. The chairman of the Akosombo Muslim community, Chief R.S. Mahama, said they have been able to construct a basic school from Kindergarten to JSS. An amount of over 22 million cedis was raised at the ceremony.