Takoradi, Nov 25, GNA Mr. Samuel Bannerman-Mensah, the Director General of the Ghana Education Service, has said Religious and Moral Education (RME) has been fully re-instated as a subject for Junior High Schools. "A new syllabus has been prepared and the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) will resume examining Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) candidates in the new syllabus in 2011. "RME will not be examined at the 2010 BECE," he said.

Mr. Bannerman-Mensah was speaking at the 44th Speech and Prize-Giving Family Day of the Archbishop Porter Girls' Senior High School in Takoradi at the weekend.

Mr Bannerman-Mensah said it was the responsibility of parents and teachers to ensure that the youth understand and developed the religious and cultural values that had stood the test of time. "We need attitudinal change and the best way is to show leadership by example," he said.

Mr Bannerman-Mensah said to maintain high moral and academic standards in schools, the curriculum from the kindergarten, Primary through the Junior High and Senior High schools had been designed to allow teachers to infuse moral education into their lessons.

Mrs Zita Okaikoi, the Minister of Information, said the maintenance of high moral standards was a duty not just for the teachers but also for parents and the society in general. She called on stakeholders in education to ensure that students were made to keep high standards. Mrs Okaikoi said government was going to ensure that within the next three years no child would be studying under a tree again as well as give free education to all disabled children. Madam Louisa Constance Aggrey, the Headmistress of Archbishop Porter Girls' Secondary School, said increase in students' population without corresponding increase in infrastructure was a major challenge facing the school. "The compact nature of the dining hall has given course to run the shift system during meals time for our students", she said. Madam Aggrey appealed to government, non-governmental organizations, individuals as well as old students of the school to assist the school to meet its infrastructure needs. 25 Nov 09