Winneba (Central Region), 12 Jan.,

A lecturer at the department of educational foundations of the University of Cape Coast has said man, by nature is imbued with the capacity to act upon the environment, manipulate it and thereby transform it to suit society's purposes. He said it is these differential abilities to control and transform the environment that explain the different rates and levels of socio-economic development among nations. Dr.. James Adu Opare who stated this, said education is therefore the prime condition for the preparation of the human factor, which alone has the capacity to effect change to its own advantage and convenience, for development in third world countries. He was presenting a paper on: "the state of pre-university education in Ghana: focus on the Central Region", at a one-day lecture organised by the department of education and specialized professional studies in education and specialized professional studies in education of the university college of education at Winneba. The lecture formed part of a series of departmental lectures organised by the university. Dr.. Opare cautioned that no human factor through education, can bring about change unless the laws of nature governing the environment are understood. He said it is for the essence of education to bring about development that mankind adopts it as a major engine of progress. He conceded, however, that it is not education peruse that Nations are fanatical about, but rather, He said, "Nations want quality education that should be measured in students' attainment of certain levels of mastery of subject matter". Dr.. Opare said Ghanaians are worried because "our pupils and students are unable to attain the expected levels of mastery of subject matter, and that academic standards are seen to be declining or have declined." Presenting figures to support the dismal state of education in Ghana, Dr.. Opare quoted a UNICEF report in 1993 which showed that only 15 percent of primary six pupils in Ghana could read in English and only five percent of the same pupils had mathematical competence commensurate with their level. He said these figures, therefore, indicate that pupils' competence in literacy and numeracy is disappointing. The lecturer noted that due to the harsh economic conditions, parents are unable to provide care and educational needs, while communities cannot supply the schools with inputs that facilitate teaching and learning. Dr.. Opare attributed the poor performance of children in the Central Region to lack of parental concern, involvement and poverty. He suggested that pupils should be allowed to take their text books home and teachers must ensure that pupils do their homework and assignments from the textbooks and that parents who can, must supervise their children's homework.

Gri