DCE speaks on Education Endowment Fund

Sogakope, April 18, GNA - Miss Cate Aglah, South-Tongu District Chief Executive (DCE)on Friday expressed concern about the misuse of the district's Education Endowment Fund in recent years.

She therefore, cautioned new Board Members of the Fund to live up to expectation by reversing the trend that relegated the importance of the Fund to the background and facilitated its misapplication with impunity. Inaugurating the new 11-member Board of the Fund at Sogakope, Miss Aglah, reiterated that the Fund was to assist needy but intelligent pupils and improve science, technology and mathematics education in the district.

The new Board has Mr Mensah Dawukpor, Presiding Member of the South-Tongu District Assembly as Chairman, with representatives from the private sector, Ghana Education Service (GES), Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Traditional Authorities, Religious Groups and the District Assembly.

Miss Aglah said it would be suicidal on the part of Board Members to repeat the wrongs of the past.

Meanwhile, the South-Tongu District Directorate of the GES on Friday presented 100 basic school pupils from selected schools in the district with kits, which included school uniforms.

The beneficiaries of the package, worth 10 million cedis were made up of 57 girls and 43 boys who either dropped out of school or could not start at all, due to lack of parental support. The British Department of International Development (DFID) and Development Partners Under the Education Sector Support Programme (ESSP) provided the fund.

Miss Cecelia Pomary, District Director of Education, who presented the items to the beneficiaries, was critical of parents who spent their money on frivolous and misplaced priorities to the disadvantage of their children's education and development.

She urged such parents to change for the better and invest in their children's education for future development. Miss Pomary also exhorted teachers to refrain from drunkenness and absenteeism and other negative habits which continue to affect teaching and learning in the schools.

She advised pupils to use their leisure time effectively on serious studies instead of watching television and films.