Winneba (Central Region) 22 Jan. '98

The minority leader in parliament, Mr. J.H. Mensah, at the weekend called for the intensification of public education on democratic principles to enable the people to understand the process properly. Mr. Mensah was interacting with members of the Brong Ahafo students union branch at the university college of education at Winneba. He said although some Ghanaians are contribution through diverse ways to ensure the sustenance of democracy in the country, critical appraisal of the system indicates that it has not gone down well with the majority of the people. Mr. Mensah, therefore, called on civic educators and leaders of various organised groups to intensify their activities on democratic principles to enable a wider spectrum of the Ghanaian populace to contribute towards the success of the process. On the funding of tertiary education in the country, Mr. Mensah, who is also the MP for Sunyani East, agreed that cost of university education must be borne by both parents and the government. He appealed to industrial concerns and other organisations to contribute financially towards the effective running of tertiary institutions in the country. In a welcoming address, Mr. Kweku Manu, chairman of Basu, called for the establishment of a university and additional senior secondary schools in the Brong Ahafo Region to cater for the increasing educational requirements of people in their region. Mr. Manu also stressed the need for parents in the region to pay serious attention to the education of their female children. He regretted that out of he 12,000 students admitted into various senior secondary schools in the region last year, only 4,139 were females. On health, Mr. Manu asked the government to consider establishing a community nursing training school in the region to cater for the increasing health needs of the people. Mr. J.K. Owusu-Kusi, an economist, who chaired the function, charged teachers passing out to lead exemplary lives. gri