Kumasi, May 20, GNA - Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, Deputy Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Environmental on Monday commissioned a Gh¢ 110,000 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centre for the Kyirapatre Roman Catholic Basic School in Kumasi. The project was funded by Mr Stewart Bonney, a United Kingdom (UK) based philanthropist in collaboration with Mr Joseph Edusei, a native of Kyirapatre also based in the UK.

The centre had adult and children's library, equipped with 30 computers, of which 20 had been hooked to the internet. The remaining 10 were to be used for tutorials by the school children and is expected to be patronised by 32 first cycle institutions, 15 Senior High Schools and some tertiary institutions in the Kumasi Metropolis.

Addressing a durbar of chiefs and people of Kyirapatre, Mr Jumah urged parents to take keen interest and invest in the education of their children to complement government efforts at improving on education in the country.

He said: "since ICT has now become the bedrock of education, there is the need for parents to encourage their children to develop an interest in it to enhance their understanding of ICT". Mr Jumah, also the Member of Parliament for the area, condemned the rising incidence of liqueur consumption among some students in the area and advised them to desist from the act because it could destroy their future.

Mr Omari-Mensah Tenkorang, Acting Executive Director of the Ghana Library Board, said for the past two years, they had made efforts to improve on the existing public library services to meet the information, education, research and recreational needs of the people. He mentioned that a nation-wide Mobile Library Service, which was on pilot basis, would be introduced in August this year, adding that the government had given ten vans and funds for books to commence the programme.

Mr Tenkorang said two officers from each region had been trained in mobile library service delivery while a national mobile library policy document had been formulated to serve as a blue-print for the successful operation of the service.

Nana Annor Owusu Panin III, Kyirapatrehene commended the two philanthropists for their support to the community towards the construction of a six classroom block for the Kyirapatre R/C primary school and another two-classroom block, an office and a staff common room for the Kindergarten. He expressed the hope that it would complement government's effort at providing formal education for the children.