The District Director of Education in the Akyemmansa District, Mr. Fred Herbert Kpoor, has said parents in the district were not committed to the education of their children.

This has resulted in the low level of education in the area leading to poor performances at the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) and low enrollment in senior high schools.

Mr. Kpoor told the GNA in an interview that in the 2011 BECE, only 30% of 784 boys who took part passed and 23.1% of 539 girls were successful.

He said 20 pupils made up of 12 girls and eight boys were absent during the examination. In the 2012 BECE, 583 boys and 408 girls took part with six girls and two boys absent.

He said apart from most parents not showing interest in their children’s education, the attitude of children to education was very poor and that some of the children were engaged in the palm oil extraction, akpeteshie distilling and scaring of birds on rice farms.

On ways to reverse the trend, Mr. Kpoor said schools had been tasked to organize “Open Days” which would create an opportunity for role models from within and outside the district to talk to both parents and children on the importance of education.

Talks would also be organized in churches in major towns and villages by officers from the education directorate to sensitize the communities on the importance of education.

Mr. Kpoor said, to build the capacity of School Management Committees and Parents/Teachers Associations, refresher courses would be organized for them to know their role in improving education in the district.

He appealed to the Ministry Of Education for office accommodation for the directorate that is housed in rented premises with insufficient space for the staff, as well as director’s bungalow.

Mr. Kpoor said the district was highly deprived with no pipe bone water and poor roads thereby making the staff and teachers work under very difficult conditions.**