Two-day festival of drama and poetry begins in the Western Region

Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, the outgoing Western Regional Minister has appealed to parents to make the education of their children their topmost priority.

He made the appeal in an address read for him by Mr Kwaku Osei Poku, Director of Finance and Administration at the Regional Coordinating Council at the opening ceremony of a 2013 two-day festival of drama and poetry for Senior High Schools (SHS) in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis at Fijai near Takoradi.

The Western Regional Centre for National Culture is organizing the festival under the theme "Efforts to Arrest the Free Fall of the Standard of Education in the Region".

Mr Aidoo said by making education their priority, more avenues would be created for their children and prepare them for the global job market.

He said the National Democratic Congress government on its part would make education accessible to all and is working feverishly to operationalize the construction of 200 SHS as contained in its manifesto.

Mr Aidoo said several schools have benefited from the construction of classrooms and dormitory blocks while several others are at various stages of completion.

He said indiscipline has become the lot of many Ghanaians and the upbringing of the child is a collective effort of the teacher, parent and the society.

Mr Bernard Anaba Anyelom, Regional Director of CNC, in his welcoming address, said drama performances are an integral part of the African culture and must be utilized in the orientation of the younger generation to maintain their African identity.

He said many are still not aware of the importance of drama performance and their ability to mitigate the challenges faced by society especially the falling standards of education.

Mr Anyelom said the advent of electronic media with their attendant influence has diverted the attention and interest of the youth from the theatre to videos and television which have no room for censorship.

He said the institution of culture has the great task of rekindling the interest of the youth for drama in schools to address the challenges of cybercrime, falling standards of education and teenage pregnancies resulting from the negative effects from the uncensored electronic media.

Mr Anyelom said drama performances at the festival would provide practical approach to literature which is studied in various schools and besides entertaining the students, they are aimed at nurturing talents into stars for the future.

He said the CNC plans a regional tour of second cycle institutions to present the best enacted dramatic pieces to a larger student audience.

Mr Anyelom used the occasion to appeal the authorities to complete the construction of the regional theatre.