Akosombo, July 30, GNA - Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Co-operation and NEPAD, has said students needed to learn widely-spoken foreign languages to enhance their value on the global market.

Speaking at the 34th Speech and Prize-Giving Day of the Akosombo International School at Akosombo on Saturday, she said the situation called for the training of more teachers of foreign languages. Ms Botchwey said while a few schools were able to employ teachers to teach foreign languages, there were a lot of students, especially in the rural areas, who did not have the opportunity to learn any foreign language because of acute shortage of teachers.

She called for the introduction of Ghanaian students to the use of computer as well as modern communication tools such as the Internet and video conferencing methods.

The Headmaster of the Secondary Department of the School, Mr J K. Tawiah, expressed regret that most parents were so much engulfed in their work and businesses that they had little time to check what happened to their children beyond the payment of school fees. He said such parents were often thrown "into a state of shock" when their children got into trouble with the school authorities and the real character of their wards were revealed to them.

Mr Tawiah called on parents and guardians to check the backgrounds and character of the friends of their wards because it had been observed that most of the offences that led to the students to be dismissed from the school were caused by peer pressure. He said with effect from this year, the school had instituted special awards to reward candidates who obtain 10 ones in Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and those who would obtain six A's or more at the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination/the West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE/WASSCE). Mr Tawiah said teachers whose candidates perform creditably in the BECE and SSSCE/WASSCE would also be rewarded.

He expressed his appreciation to the Parent/Teacher Association (PTA) of the school for the various projects it had initiated to support the development of the school.