Agona Assembly approve fees free for public schools

Agona Swedru, Sept 29, GNA - The Agona District Assembly has approved the abolition of sports and cultural fees in public basic schools in the District this academic year.

Mr John Kwesi Agyabeng, District Chief Executive, announced this at the second ordinary meeting of the session of the Assembly at Agona Swedru.

He said the measure had been necessitated by the economic and social facing many parents and guardians and to improve enrolment. The DCE explained that it was also to relieve parents who were already overburdened.

Mr Agyabeng appealed to the District Directorate of the Ghana Education Service to direct heads of basic schools to adhere strictly to the initiative to ensure quality education for the children.

He said that District Assembly sponsored a number of students at various levels of education at estimated cost of 31.4 million cedis with most of the beneficiaries in Teacher Training institutions.

Mr Agyabeng said the District expected to receive 4.6 billion cedis as its share of the Common Fund for 2004, adding that, the Assembly had already received 2,017,540,819 cedis.

He said the projects to be executed with the common fund included four places of convenience at Agona Nkum, Mankrong Junction, Duotu and Mantse Mankebi.

Other projects were the construction of three school blocks at Agona Abodom, Methodist JSS, Kwansakrom ADAJSS and Kwanyako ADA/MDCC primary schools, the cladding of a school pavilion at Mensakrom and the provision of hostel facilities for the Swedru School of Business (SWESBUS) and Swedru Secondary School.

Mr Agyabeng stressed that as part of the government's policy to improve the health status of the vulnerable and under-privileged, medical bills amounting to 109,682,100 million cedis were paid in respect of maternal deliveries and other exemptions at the various health centres in the district.

He said the Agona District was making remarkable progress in the implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme.

Mr Agyabeng announced that the District had received 250 million cedis and computers and other accessories for the successful take-off of the programme.