Parents warned against child labour

Ofankor (GAR), Aug. 8, GNA- Mrs Victoria Opoku, Ga West District Director of Education, at the weekend advised parents and guardians to ensure that their children enrol in school instead of engaging them in child labour. She said children who are out of school were likely to yield to peer influence to indulge in social vices such as alcoholism, drug abuse and sexual promiscuity.

Mrs Opoku gave the advice when she addressed the Third Graduation and Speech and Prize-giving Day Silicon Valley International School at Ofankor in the Greater Accra Region.

She said formal education enhanced the acquisition of skills, decision-making capabilities of children and plays an essential role in improving the quality of life. "Education is the best legacy that we can bequeath to our children. As such, education is a right and not a privilege for the Ghanaian child," she said.

Mrs Opoku who touched on the theme: "Education: A Tool For The Future; A Collective Responsibility For All", said the 1992 Constitution aimed at promoting universal basic education without discrimination on grounds such as gender, religious affiliation or ethnic background. She said it was therefore a policy of the Government that every Ghanaian child should be in school by the year 2015. Mr Moses Aninagyei, Principal of the School said there were plans to expand and refurbish the School's library and the computer laboratory to meet modern standards.

He said the School is fully prepared for the take off of the Junior Secondary School.

Mr Aninagyei entreated parents and guardians to support the education of their children to complement the efforts of the school authorities in ensuring that discipline reins supreme among the pupils. Mr K. Frimpong Boateng, a Chairman of the School's Board of Directors, who chaired the function called on the pupils to study hard since the future of the country, depends on them.