About 535 pupils enrol in five schools at Chiraa

Chiraa (BAR), Sept. 17, GNA - A total of 535 new pupils enrolled on 'My First Day at School' in five schools at Chiraa in Sunyani Municipality. The schools were Methodist, SDA, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic and Islamic Primary.

Most of them were accompanied by their parents whilst those graduating from kindergarten to class one were marched to their new classrooms by teachers. The excited pupils were presented with caps and biscuits to celebrate the day. Ms Agatha Sapaku, Assistant Headmistress of Methodist Primary School, told Ghana News Agency that, this year's enrolment showed a significant increase over last year. She attributed the increase to government interventions such as the school feeding programme and capitation grant that encouraged most parents, predominantly farmers, to enrol their children of school-going age in school.

A teacher in the school noted that insufficient tables and chairs would create a problem in view of the increase in enrolment. She therefore, called on stakeholders in education to help improve infrastructure in schools to enable the pupils feel comfortable in their classrooms. The teacher said another problem was refusal of parents to purchase exercise books for their children since they claimed education had been declared free. Most of the parents who took their children to the schools, refused to send them back home as jollof rice was ready to be served for lunch.