Mr. Joseph Kwabena Onyinah, the Ashanti Regional Director of Education has appealed to well-to-do Muslims to do more to support the promotion of education in the Zongo communities.

It would not be out of place for example for them to set up education funds in aid of brilliant but needy children to pursue academic careers and these could also be used to provide the schools with some needed logistics.

He said this in a speech read for him at the closing ceremony of a three-day workshop organized for members of the Ashanti Regional Council of Islamic Teachers at the Kumasi Central Mosque.

The event was held under the auspices of the Islamic Education Unit and it provided the platform for the participants to discuss their roles in the development of secular and Arabic education.

Mr. Onyinah noted that, many of the Muslim youth are endowed with talents and the potentials which could be exploited through education.

What is needed is to give them the helping hand to receive reasonable level of education to help realize their dreams.

He asked the Council to undertake outreach programmes to help people in the Zongo areas to appreciate the importance of secular education.

Sheikh Osman Orlando, the Regional Chairman of the Council, repeated the appeal for Arabic to be made an examinable subject at the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

This he said, would help to open up opportunities for Arabic students to further their studies abroad.**