Cape Coast, March 14, GNA - The Deputy Minister of Education, Dr. Samuel Joseph Annan, on Saturday said that education without respect for one another, discipline, loyalty and patriotism was meaningless. He expressed regret about the failing standards in the quality of teaching and learning in institutions, saying, indiscipline, increase in population and inadequate infrastructure were some of the causes. The Deputy Minister made the observation at Adisadel College's (Adisco) 100th Speech and Prize- Giving and Founder's Day Celebration in Cape Coast, on the theme, "Projecting the Adisadel Spirit into the Next Century", and called on Senior High Schools (SHS) in the country to give priority attention to technical and vocational training.

He said training students in these fields will make them innovative and bring out their talents and will also help Ghana to achieve its goal of becoming a middle income country.

Dr. Annan said to compliment government's efforts in attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) students should be self-motivated and be willing to sacrifice their time to study to be successful in life. Dr. Ave Kludze Junior, a Rocket Scientist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States, and an old boy, urged the Ghana Education Service (GES) to incorporate modern technology in its curriculum and emphasis should be placed on science, mathematics and technology.

He said he will establish a Virtual National Science Technology pre- Engineering and Mathematics Centre (STEM), which according to him, will link Adisco to the world by creating and leveraging advanced scientific and mathematics studies for students of the school. Dr. Kludze said without education, the nation's future was bleak and the people wallow in ignorance.

He therefore advised students to be curious and learn more, so as to become great achievers to assist in nation building. Touching on the new four-year SHS duration system, he said that it was not the length of education one received that mattered, but rather the quality and standard of education as well as the commitment of the individual.

The Headmaster of Adisco, Mr. Herbert Graham disclosed that Adisadel College was the only school in Ghana which has enough classrooms to serve the fourth year SHS students. He said this was made possible by the GETFUND, which constructed a 16- unit classroom block for the school. Mr Graham asked for more infrastructures in order to create more rooms to admit more students.

He also disclosed that aside a four-storey eight-unit block of flats being constructed for the staff; the GETFUND was also constructing the Centenary Resource Centre near the Accra-Takoradi highway, which will have a 3,000- capacity assembly hall, a library and an ICT centre. Mr. Graham said the school which was established on January 4, 1910 with 29 boys, currently has a total of 1,447 boys (all boarders) in line with the government's policy of making education accessible to all children. He said the school has over the years produced men with outstanding qualities serving in the field of education, politics, religion, medicine, law and business in Ghana, Africa and the world at large. The Assistant Headmaster in charge of academics, Mr. Joseph Opare presented prizes to deserving students, teaching and non- teaching staff. 15 March 10