Kyebi, Dec. 8, GNA - The East Akyem District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Emmanuel Victor Asihene, has commended facilitators of the Non-Formal Education Division (NFED) of the Ministry of Education and Sports for their spirit of voluntarism in the promotion of adult literacy in the country.

He noted that in this era where the spirit of voluntarism that existed some years back had gone down, people contributing to the realization of the national agenda needed to be recognized. The DCE made the commendation at Kyebi on Thursday, when 31 facilitators of the Division were presented with gifts at the end of their 21- month period of facilitating adult literacy in the rural areas.

He told the facilitators to develop interest in current national issues so as to be able to explain government policies to the people since they were most exposed to people in the rural and informal sectors.

Mr Asihene expressed concern at the recent breakdown of decorum on the airwaves and charged the facilitators to act as "filters" in the communities in which they work for the people to be able to discern what was right from the various radio stations.

The East Akyem District Co-ordinator of the NFED, Nana Akoma Acheampong, said 100 facilitators were recruited initially but only the 31 beneficiaries could stay on up for the 21 months. He said the aim of the NFED was to help people not only to become literate but also be functional in the growth of the socio-economic development of the country.

Mr Acheampong disclosed that 994 women and 335 men had so far benefited from the non-formal education exercise during the period of the facilitators in the East Akyem and Atiwa district which was formally part of the east Akyem district and thanked the facilitators for their hard work.

The items presented included bicycles, sewing machines and ghetto blasters.