Wa, Oct 04, GNA - The Chief Imam of Wa, Imam Mahama Ibn Mahama, on Tuesday commended the government for introducing the Capitation Grant to give meaning to its Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) programme. Under the Capitation Grant, the government provided 113 billion cedis to pay the fees of all children in public primary and junior secondary schools.

In a message to Ghanaian Muslims at the commencement of the annual month-long Ramadan fast, Imam Mahama appealed to Muslim parents and guardians to take full advantage of the grant to enrol their children particularly girls into schools to give them the chance to acquire formal education in addition to the Islamic education given at the community level.

He said education, particularly education for girls, was needed to help move people up the development ladder. Imam Mahama appealed to the country's religious leaders to preach peace, love and moral excellence and also against corruption and violence. He called on political leaders to eschew negative tendencies that were likely to undermine loyalty and obedience by the people.