Parents advised to invest in their children's education

Dr Raph Asabre, Principal of the Accra Polytechnic, on Saturday advised parents to invest in the education of their children instead of spending lavishly on marriages, funerals, parties and other ceremonies.

He reminded parents that the best legacies they could bequeath to their children were knowledge and skills that could make them self-reliant and contribute meaningfully to national development.

Dr Asabre was speaking at the 45th Anniversary Speech and Prize Giving Day of the Pope John Secondary and Junior Seminary at Koforidua at the weekend.

He requested parents to ensure proper early childhood development for their children and that they should not expect teachers to "perform miracles on spoilt and pampered children."

He advised school children to study subjects that could assist them possess the requisite skills that could enable them to compete in the fast developing technological world.

Nana Adjei Boateng, New Juaben Municipal Chief Executive, appealed to students to be disciplined and learn hard so that they could pass their examinations to justify the huge invest their parents made in their education.

He gave the assurance that the assembly would collaborate with individuals and organisations to improve teaching and learning in the area.

The Headmaster of the School, Mr Paul Ofori-Atta in his report said last year, out of the 577 students who registered for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE), 496 representing 86 per cent passes in six or more subjects whiles 64 per cent of them qualified for admission into the Universities.

He said the school authorities were counselling academically weak students to help improve their standards.

Mr. Ofori-Atta advised parents not to register their children for the private SSCE prematurely, since that could interfere with the school programme and negatively affect the performance of candidates in the final school examinations.

He appealed to philanthropists and organisations to assist the school to build a staff bungalow and workshop for the Visual Arts class and to purchase a vehicle to facilitate academic work.

Mr. Ofori-Atta appealed to past students to collaborate with the government to complete work on the Kitchen/Dinning Hall Complex, which was started about 30 years ago.

The occasion was also used to inaugurate the school's Airforce Cardet Corps.