GIFNet-Ashaiman presents paper on education to Assembly

Ashaiman, Sep 1, GNA - Stakeholders in education within the Ashaiman Municipality have been charged to get actively involved in the administration of schools to help promote education in the area.

The call is contained in a paper jointly prepared by the Ashaiman branch of the Governance Issues Forum Network (GIFNet) and the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) and presented to Ashaiman Municipal Assembly.

It seeks to provide inputs for the Assembly's Medium Term Development Plan from 2010 to 2013, as well as its budget for next year.

It forms part of the Governance Issues Forum (GIF) Citizens' Dialogue with District Officials on theme: "Promoting Quality Education for National Development."

Mr Selassie Hiadzi, GIFNet member, who presented the paper to the Assembly at Ashaiman, called on government to build additional Senior High Schools and Junior High Schools to help abolish the school shift system in the Municipality.

He called for the regulation of schools and the enforcement of bye-laws to regulate the proliferation of video game centres within the Municipality.

Mr Hiadzi said members of GIFNet were optimistic that the collaboration between members of civil society groups and local authorities would be strengthened to promote education in the Municipality.

Mr Numo Adinortey Addison, Ashaiman Municipal Chief Executive, received the paper and thanked GIFNet for coming out with the document at a time when stakeholders in education were striving to put structures in place to solve problems facing education in the Municipality.

He said the paper was in line with the goals of the Assembly's Medium-Term Development Programme adding the Assembly was determined to commit a chunk of its resources into the provision of quality education.

Mrs Florence Quaye, Municipal Director of Education, expressed the hope that with the provision of additional classrooms, the problem of over-enrolment in the cluster of schools would be solved.

She urged owners of private schools in the Municipality to register their schools to help the Municipal Education Directorate to streamline its operations.

Mr Alfred Kwame Agbesi, Member of Parliament for Ashaiman, said the falling standards of education throughout the country was a matter of grave concern to government.

He promised that the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education would work hard to improve education in the country.

Mr Douglas Quartey, Project Officer of GIF, explained that the implementation of the Forum was in line with IDEG's efforts at promoting participatory governance as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution which "affords all possible opportunities for people to participate in decision making at every level of national life and government."

KFM/CO

1 Sep 10