Nyinase (B/A), March 18, GNA - Teachers at Nyinase Local Primary School in Nkoranza South District have identified child labour as a major challenge facing education in the community. Mr Charles Damah, a Teacher, disclosed this at a community stakeholders meeting at Nyinase at the weekend. The District Education Planning Team organised the meeting to find the problems facing enrolment drive and retention of school children in the school.

Mr Damoah said the community consisted of settler farmers who lived in hamlets and their children had to trek long distances to attend school at Nyinase. He noted that the men engaged their children to take their livestock to the bush for feeding before allowing them to report for classes.

Such practices cause the children to report late to school and that affects normal teaching and learning, he stated. Mr Nicholas Badu, Chairman of the School Management Committee, complained that some of the parents refused to give their children food before going to school and this made a number of them to run home for food during class hours. He appealed to the government to include the school in the feeding programme. Reverend Peperah Twumasi, member of the District Education Planning Team, called for collaborative efforts of parents and teachers to ensure discipline in the school for the proper education and training of the children.

He urged the community leaders to call a meeting of all parents and enact bye-laws to prevent school children from attending video shows and other soc ial events that could entice the youth to engage in social vices.

The priest emphasized the need for teachers to eschew negative practices that could tarnish their image as role models. The Odikro of the area, Nana Baffo Adjei, appealed to parents to feed their children before school so they would be happy to stay in the classrooms.

He advised parents not to take their children to the farms on school days as that would have adverse effect on their education. 18 March 11