Dromankuma (B/A), July 29, GNA - A junior secondary school at Dromankuma in the Nkoranza District has since 1999 scored zero per cent in the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE).

Statistics at the Nkoranza District Education Directorate indicate that between 1999 and 2002, 70 candidates made up of 42 boys and 28 girls passed out from the school but none of them qualified for admission into senior secondary school.

The dismal situation has prompted Mr. Jarvis R. Agyemang-Badu, the new District Director of Education, to organise a forum to discuss with the people and teachers the causes of the low performance and how to rectify the situation.

Addressing the people Mr Agyemang-Badu said the situation demanded an immediate attention because there was no hope for the youth.

The statistics also revealed that the school registered 10 candidates, five boys and five girls for the 2003 examination, but one of the girls dropped out of school as she became pregnant.

Mr. Agyemang-Badu expressed concern about the negative attitude of some of the parents towards education of their children because they send some of them to the farms on school days.

Some of the parents engage their children in their petty trading activities, refuse to pay their fees and would not provide them with the basic school needs.

He called on the School Management Committee (SMC) and the Parent-Teacher Association to redouble efforts in their respective roles and responsibilities as stakeholders to improve the standard of education in the area.

Parents in the district should co-operate with the teachers to promote discipline in the schools and also to ensure that their children do not roam about during school hours and after school.

Mr. Agyemang-Badu urged teachers from the Kindergarten through the primary schools to the JSS level to work harder to promote education in District.

Mr Blankson Adoma, headmaster of the local JSS, complained that some teachers lacked accommodation and that relation between teachers and parents were not cordial.

He mentioned the practice among the students to absent themselves from school to engage in charcoal burning, while others attended video centres, wake-keepings during funerals, dances and concerts to the detriment of their books. The headmaster said that the teachers had tried to stop them from such activities but to no avail. Mr. Alex Baidoo, PTA Chairman, expressed gratitude to the District Director for visiting the community to assist them in solving problems militating against education in the area. Meanwhile, the community has resolved to ban schoolchildren from attending video shows, funerals, dances and concerts and would also provide accommodation for the teachers and support them.