DCEs, Headmasters interact with Minister

Tamale, Oct. 21, GNA - The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, has bemoaned the poor infrastructure of senior secondary schools in the region, especially those that had not been captured in the upgrading programme. Alhaji Idris urged the heads to apply through the Regional Directorate of Education for two projects each for their schools from the GETFUND.

He said the selection of the projects should be prioritised and "your choice should be purely for academic purposes". "As school authorities, you must take keen interest in the development of your schools, instill discipline in your students and ensure that the environment in the schools are clean and conducive for teaching and learning", he said.

Alhaji Idris expressed the concern at a meeting with Heads of Senior Secondary Schools and District Chief Executives to solicit the intervention of the district assemblies in the provision of school infrastructure.

He said: "As the situation stands now, it would be very difficult for us to accommodate the large number of pupils who would pass out from the basic schools into the senior secondary schools". Alhaji Idris therefore appealed to the district assemblies to help provide infrastructure to senior secondary schools established in their areas to enhance quality education.

Alhaji Idris used the forum to appeal to the striking teachers to rescind their decision and go back to the classroom while their leaders and the government negotiated for better salaries and working condition. "A total withdrawal from the schools is not the best, especially knowing very well that our children are preparing to write their examinations.

"We will be jeopardising their future if they maintained their entrenched position, " he said.

Alhaji Idris said the issue of quality education was not about salaries alone but also about the provision of classrooms, libraries and dormitories.

The Regional Minister called on the assemblies to help sponsor national sporting activities in the region as the Regional Coordinating Council alone could no longer shoulder the cost of such tournaments. Some of the heads commended the district assemblies for providing school infrastructure, including teachers' accommodation, as well as potable water to their institutions and urged them to do more. 21 Oct. 06