Capitation, feeding, transportation to ensure educated citizenry -

Accra, Aug. 17, GNA - The Government's policies such as the capitation grant, the school feeding programme and other interventions are geared towards the attainment of a well-educated citizenry, Mr. Joe Baidoo-Ansah, Deputy Minister of Tourism and Diaspora Relations has said.

This, the Deputy Minister stressed would enable parents to send their children and wards to school to obtain education, which is the key to their future and ensure the development of the nation. Mr Baidoo-Ansah made the statement in a speech read on his behalf at the third graduation ceremony of the Saint Cecilia Basic Schools in Accra.

The Government introduced the capitation grant last year, as a means of boosting basic school enrolments. It is also to make basic school education accessible to the larger section of the population. The programme, Mr Baidoo-Ansah explained, was a national exercise within the broader framework of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), endorsed by the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

He said the responsibility of parents for the education of their children was very crucial even where the Government was able to provide all the resources and access to education, and cautioned: "If parents do not supplement it by really encouraging their children to take advantage of the opportunity, we will not succeed." The Deputy Minister quoting Thomas Scott, to buttress his point stated: "A man cannot leave a better legacy to the world than a well-educated family."

He said the ability of a parent to pay promptly the relevant fees for the education of the children was very much an expression of the love one had for them.

Mrs Cecilia Sackey, Proprietor of the School, said it was established 20 year ago, to serve the interest of the Kanda Community in Accra and its immediate neighbourhoods.

She said the School's primary objective was to train "the minds, hearts and hands" of the individual.

She appealed to parents to settle their children's bills promptly to enable the School to operate successfully throughout next term. The Headmaster, Mr Mike Simmon Addo Sunu said the teaching staffs of the school were doing everything possible to promote teaching and learning and called on parents to send their children to school.