Tamale Dec. 11, GNA - Wife of the Vice President Hajia Ramatu Mahama, on Monday advised teachers to forget about the monetary aspect of their profession and help give good and quality education to children to ensure that the nation's educational standards did not sink further. She said, "It is a well established fact that teachers are the main academic builders and therefore need the necessary attention to ensure that they impart the knowledge in them to children to take up leadership positions."

Hajia Ramatu gave the advice in Tamale when she presented some 150-duel desks to the Rama Foundation, to kick start classes in the Rama Foundation International School, a private vocational training institute and school.

The school is an initiative of the Second Lady to offer skills training to women, while their children and other children from deprived communities would attend Nursery and Primary school there. Hajia Ramatu said it was important for teachers to be well paid and remunerated and called on them to think about the blessing they would receive by offering good and quality education to children to improve standards.

She asked teachers to continue remain patient since the government had a beautiful and handsome package for them to improve their economic and social status saying, "Let us think of the blessing more than the money to enhance the nation's development."

Hajia Ramatu Mahama has also bemoaned the practice of early marriages among the people in the North and called for a change to ensure that the girl child went to school.

She said the youth stood the greatest opportunity of getting better marriages if they had education and advised parents to focus more on the girl child education enhance the human resource development of the nation.

Madam Alexandria Sopiimeh, Tamale Metropolitan Director of Education said it was necessary to offer quality education to children right from Kindergarten to prepare their minds for higher institutions of learning.

She said eight districts in the Northern Region out of 15 in the country were gender parity and that it was important for stakeholders in education to work collectively to reverse the trend. Mr. Mohammed Amin Adam, Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive expressed gratitude to Hajia Mahama for working hard to change the phase of education in the Northern Region. Hajia Ramatu Mahama also donated some food items to the Anfaani Children's Home, also in Tamale for the upkeep of the inmates. The items included nine cartons of baby-powdered milk, one carton of key soap and 20 baby rubber bands. 11 Dec. 06