Agona Akwakwaa C/R, Dec 30, GNA - No student from the Akwakwaa JSS has qualified to enter senior secondary school in the past five years, Mr John Kwesi Agyabeng, Agona District Chief Executive, said on Monday. Addressing a meeting at Akwakwaa to discuss the poor academic performance pupils in the area, he said the school scored zero per cent in the 2000 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). The DCE said that even though the District Assembly had instituted a Fund to sponsor JSS students with good grades at the BECE to enter senior secondary school, no student from the town had qualified to benefit for the past two years.

Mr Agyabeng stated the government's commitment towards the provision of educational infrastructure and facilities to promote effective teaching and learning throughout the country especially in rural communities.

He urged parents and guardians to play their roles well and to assist and encourage their children and wards to take their studies seriously to get better grades.

The DCE noted with concern that the best aggregate for the school last year was 24 while that for this year was 30 and described the situation as "dangerous for education in this town". When GNA spoke to the Assistant Head-Teacher, Mr Wilberforce Yakubu Otabil, he blamed the poor performance of the pupils on parents who refused "to pay even 200 cedis for extra classes, which contribute to the poor results, in the BECE".

He noted that the pupils had weak foundation since classes had to be combined because of lack of adequate school structures in previous years and complained about lack of accommodation in the town for teachers who commuted daily to school.

Ms Felicia Acquah, an opinion leader, urged the youth especially pupils to abstain from pre-marital sex to avoid contracting HIV/AIDS and unwanted pregnancies.

She said some members of the community had taken it upon themselves to educate parents on the need to educate their children and to provide their basic needs to obtain good grades.

Ms Acquah cautioned parents against attacking teachers who punished their children when they went wrong to instil discipline, which was a prerequisite for good academic performance.