By James Esuon
Agona Swedru (C/R), Mar 15, GNA- Mr Eric Gyenfi Odoom, Headteacher of AME Zion (D) Basic School in Agona Swedru has stated with concern that public Basic School pupils in Agona Swedru have been engaging in active petty trading.
This, he said was hugely affecting their academic performance.
According to Mr Odoom, public school teachers have the requisite academic qualifications with least among them being diploma holders, which enabled them to teach pupils and students to pass every examination.
He, however, noted that the trading activities by the pupil were disrupting their studies and unfortunately making some people to rundown public-school teachers for non-performing as compared to private school teachers.
Mr Odoom made the observation after he addressed the Speech and Prize Giving Day and 30th anniversary celebration of AME Zion (E) Basic School at Agona Swedru.
The theme for the celebration was: ‘’Thirty Years of Academic Excellence- Shaping Future Leaders Through Legacy and Innovation.”
Mr Odoom stressed that pupils were supposed to study their books after school hours, but rather almost 80 percent went out selling as soon as they closed from school.
He lamented that apart from engaging in active petty trading, the pupils came to school without notebooks and other learning materials, impeding quality teaching and learning.
He said the parents of pupils in private schools actually gave maximum attention to their children’s education by providing all their needs.
Mr Odoom, also the Constituency Secretary of the Ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) gave the assurance that Mrs Ernestina Ofori Dangbey, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Agona West, would help address problems facing public schools in the constituency, particularly, Agona Swedru.
He appealed to the parents to endeavour to invest heavily in their children’s education since education was the key to social economic transformation.
Mr Bismark Offei, the Agona West Municipal Director of Education lamented about the excessive absenteeism and lateness by some pupils, mostly those in the final year was a cause of worry to the directorate.
He called on parents to take full responsibility of their children’s education, stressing that it was sad to have some students go to school without money or food.
The Municipal Director charged parents to rise to their responsibility for their children to go through their education with minimal challenges by giving them food and buying them books and other stationery.
Mr Offei also admitted that the lack of teachers in the areas was seriously affecting quality teaching and learning and gave an assurance that efforts were being made to narrow the gap to enhance quality education in rural areas.
Mrs Lucy Ama Duker, Headmistress of AME Zion (E) Basic School said discipline was the hallmark to success.
She therefore urged the pupils to be always disciplined to become great men and women in the society.
She said the school’s academic performance had been constant since she assumed office as headmistress in 2016 and expressed optimism that with the assistance of highly committed and hardworking teachers their academic excellence will not change.
She said the main purpose of the Anniversary celebration was to raise funds to resource the computer laboratory of the school to enable students to better learn Information Communication and Technology (ICT) to equip them adequately for the job market.
GNA
AT/BM