Ejisu (Ashanti Region), 10 Nov.,

Female employees of District Assemblies have been advised to upgrade their academic standards so that they could occupy policy making positions. Miss Rose Oteng, Ejisu-Juaben District Chief Executive who gave the advice, said this demands women spending less time on make-ups, styling the hair and gossiping at workplaces. She was speaking at a fund-raising durbar organised by the Ejisu-Juaben District Assembly Ladies Club at Ejisu. Miss Oteng observed that education is crucial to women's empowerment and asked women to always seek to be knowledgeable through reading, especially journals and newspapers. The District Chief Executive also spoke of the need for the Club to encourage its members to be disciplined and efficient at their workplaces. ''It is important that we examine ourselves closely to identify our weaknesses so that we can adopt the needed corrective measures'', she added. Mrs. Betty Adunyame, Ashanti Regional Co-ordinator of the National Council on Women and Development (NCWD), told the Club members not to focus attention only on the welfare of its members but ensure that the Club's impact is felt in the immediate community. This, she said, requires undertaking community exercises like tree planting, clean-ups as well as talks to the youth on issues like girl-child education, teenage pregnancy and drug abuse. Mrs. Margaret Atepor, President of the Club, in a welcoming address explained that their aim is among other things to raise funds to support needy children in the area. About 500,000 cedis was mobilised at the function.