Ghana must focus on early childhood education

Koforidua, Aug. 18, GNA- The New Juaben Municipal Director of Education, Ms Felicia Duku, has urged proprietors of Early Child Development Schools to charge reasonable fees for their services. Ms Duku who was addressing the 13th graduation ceremonies of the Aggrey Early Childhood Centre and the Harvard International School at separate ceremonies at Koforidua on Tuesday.

She explained that the pre-school development was recognized as the foundation for quality education that needed to be accessible to every school-going age child.

Ms Duku noted that if the fees of such schools were unaffordable to parents, the purpose of such facilities would be defeated, saying that most children would be denied of the good foundation in quality education

She asked teachers in the early-child development institutions to instil discipline in children by exhibiting morals worthy of emulation. The Education Director advised teachers to use the English language as a medium of expression so that pupils could master the language in their advanced years.

She however said: "the local language should not be entirely ignored because it is the power of the tongue."

The proprietor of the Aggrey Childhood Development Centre, Mrs Patricia Osei-Appaw, said the school established two years ago, supplements the government's efforts in providing quality education in the country.

She urged parents to pay their fees on time to ensure that their children received the best training in their formative years. At the Harvard International School, the Manageress, Mrs Comfort Dodoo, commended the Ghana Education Service (GES) for its support in the running of the school and called on the government to implement the early childhood development policy to facilitate their work.

She also advised mothers to give breastfeeding to their babies, which, according to her, had proven to be good for mental development of the child. 18 Aug 04