Sunyani, June 12, GNA - Mr Joseph Obeng, Deputy Coordinating Director for the Tain District, in the Brong Ahafo region, on Friday, entreated students to be discipline in order to achieve academic excellence.
He was speaking at a one-day career fair at Seikwa, organized by ActionAid Ghana, a non-governmental organization, for 130 students drawn from the district.
The participating schools were Nkoranman, Badu, Nsawkaw State and Menji Senior High Schools.
Mr Obeng cautioned the students to desist from taking drugs to enhance their academic performance, saying that, 93taking drugs to aid you in your studies will rather jeopardize the bright future ahead of you".
He asked students to develop their skills to become self-employed to avoid chasing non-existent jobs after school, stressing that, the knowledge they would acquire should transform them and reflect in all spheres of their lives.
The Deputy Coordinating Director commended ActionAid Ghana for complementing government's efforts through programmes in poverty alleviation and helping women and children in deprived areas.
Madam Christina Amarchey, Brong Ahafo Regional Programme Manager for the NGO noted that, inappropriate and inadequate training for the job market had rendered many youth jobless.
She called for the right training and counselling to enable students to make perfect decisions for their careers and urged district assemblies to assist in making guidance and counselling units in basic and second cycle schools more functional and effective.
Madam Amarchey called on parents, teachers and school authorities to contribute their quota to make guidance and counselling more effective in schools.
Personnel in various professions took turns to take the students through the rudiments in their choice of dream professions.
They said the best tool the students needed was for them to study hard to enter any accredited tertiary institution where they could pursue their desired professions.
Mrs. Patricia Awua, Regional Guidance and Counselling Co-ordinator at the Ghana Education Service (GES), in a presentation, advised the students not to allow the situation of living in a deprived area hinder them from pursuing their desired future careers.
"With perseverance, determination, hard work and confidence you can achieve your objectives in life", she said.
The fair, under the theme, 93my career, my future", was aimed at exposing the students to various professions so that they could make better career choices and to take informed decisions on clear career goals.
