Madam Philippa Banson, Nkoranza South District Director of Education said kindergartens served as the basis for formal basic education and that teachers at that level should be serious with their work, to ensure a sound and firm foundation for the pupils.

She stressed the need for teachers to encourage the children to develop communication skills that would help them to speak their mother tongue and communicate in the English Language through the use of simple words.

Madam Banson was addressing a meeting of Kindergarten school teachers in the district in Nkoranza on Friday.

She dismissed the notion held by some people that kindergartens were places for teachers to relax and play, saying that level of education rather served as the foundation where young children learn to read and write, and therefore, needed teachers who were hard-working.

Mr. Robert Benefo, Nkoranza East Circuit Supervisor, reiterated the need for kindergarten teachers to establish “shopping corners” in their classrooms, where they could teach conversation aspects of learning and introduce the children to simple words.

“Shopping corners” in the kindergartens are places where teachers assemble empty items such as milk, milo and sardine tins, rubber bottles and other canned materials with their names properly labeled on them, which are used to demonstrate to the children.

He said by using that method of teaching at the kindergarten level, the teacher introduced his or her name to the children and encouraged them to do “shopping in the corner,” a practice that enabled the children to speak the English Language using the “Conversation” method.

The Nkoranza South District Pre-School Organizer, Madam Elizabeth Danso, called on the teachers to prepare their lesson notes, as well as teaching and learning materials to make their lessons practical and interesting.

She said necessary plans were being made by the District Education Directorate to organize in-service training courses for pre-school teachers, to improve their methodologies of teaching.**