Tongo (U/E), Sept 19, GNA - The Talensi Nabdam District Assembly is embarking on strategies to curb the spate of school drop outs in the area. The District Chief Executive, Mrs. Vivian Anafo, expressed concern in an interview with the GNA about the high rate of school drop outs in the district and said the assembly had tasked the Education Committee to come out with measures to deal with the situation. She said another issue was that majority of school children especially girls migrated during vacation periods to the southern sector in search of jobs and some returned home with problems including pregnancies. Mrs Anafo said the assembly was also appealing to parents to stop sending their children to the southern sector to do menial jobs. The assembly has also set up an education taskforce that would ensure that children were sent to school and retained in school and any body who did not comply would be sanctioned.

Mrs. Anafo said another major problem undermining education in the area was mining and miners had been warned not to recruit children. Any miner caught violating that directive would have his license revoked. She said government placed so much importance on education and would not compromise with anybody who would want to thwart the progress of education of children in the country.

Mrs Anafo said the Education Directorate and the assembly would build more school infrastructure and re-roof schools that had their roofs ripped off during the 2007 flood and the recent flood. The assembly has been supporting the most deprived students with sponsorship into teachers' training colleges, nursing training colleges and medical schools.