Higgins Kindergarten hold first open day

Takoradi July 19 -GNA- Mrs Angie Kutin Tandoh, Vice Principal of Holy Child College, at the weekend asked teachers and parents to collaborate to ensure total development of children.

She made the call at the first open day and graduation of 74 pupils at the Higgins Metropolitan Authority Kindergarten School at Takoradi. The theme for the day was, "Kindergarten Education, a Good Foundation for Child Upbringing."

Mrs. Tandoh said parents should take pains to educate their wards in the home to augment the efforts of teachers in the school. She said many leave home early to undertake economic ventures to the detriment of the proper training of the child because of the economic condition in the country.

She urged parents to show love and concern for their children so that they could grow up to be responsible adults.

She said gone were the days when children attended nursery school or Child Care Centre just to allow working mothers to go to work. Mrs Tandoh said, "Kindergarten education has now become a transition experience from early childhood stage instead of from the family or home".

She said Kindergarten is not a modified primary school programme but rather gives the child experiences in communicating, knowing, creating problem solving and decision making in terms of developmental stages of the individual.

Mrs Tandoh said the importance of Kindergarten education cannot be over-emphasised for it supplies time and activities for the development of all aspects of life.

She said the Kindergarten teacher need to build on the child's home experiences in order to create language power and love for learning. Nana Kwabena Osei Nketiah, Shama-Ahanta Metropolitan Director of Education, said the government is taking steps to post graduate teachers to lower primary schools, including Early Childhood Development Centres to replace old and untrained teachers.

He said posting of graduate teachers to lower primary schools would begin next academic year as part of the government's education reform programme.