General News of Monday, 25 January 2010

Source: GNA

School/PTA agree to destroy students' mobile phones

Agona Kwanyako (C/R), Jan. 25, GNA - Authorities of the Kwanyako Secondary/Technical School and the Parents Teacher Association (PTA), have agreed to destroy by fire 24 mobile phones seized from students last year.. Mr Francis Koomson, Headmaster of the school, disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after a PTA meeting at Agona Kwanyako last Saturday.

He said the school seized the mobile phones because it was against the rules and regulations of the Ghana Education Service (GES) to use the facility on school campuses.

Mr Koomson said the use of mobile phones disturbed studies adding that most students especially girls spent a lot of time during the night to make calls instead of learning.

The headmaster said the school was contacting Vodafone Ghana to install phone booths on the school campus to enable students to reach out to thei= r parents when necessary and at convenient time periods.

He expressed concern about the poor performance of students in the la= st year's West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination adding that o= nly 31 out of 278 candidates gained admission to the public universities. The headmaster said the school needed more structures to meet the increasing students' population. He commended the PTA for providing the school with a dormitory, classroom blocks and computer laboratory. Mr Koomson announced that the Agona East Assembly has accepted to complete a six-classroom block started by the Member of Parliament for As= sin North to enhance effective teaching and learning. He regretted that the school continued to conduct examination under trees and appealed to corporate bodies such as financial institutions to come to the aid of the school. Mr Koomson called on the Assembly to rehabilitate the road linking th= e school to the main Swedru/Awutu Bawjiase road. Mr Clement Gyan-Quansah, Chairman of the Parent Teacher Association, said the PTA had provided 75 mono-desks, six double beds, six tables and 12 benches worth GH¢4,000 also to the school. He said the Association would also complete the first floor of the tw= o storey building and connection of internet to the computer laboratory thi= s year.