Fiaso (B/A), July 9, GNA - Mr Kwabena Agyemang-Badu, Techiman Acting Municipal Director of Education, has urged communities to set up watch committees to safeguard school property against theft and destruction by unscrupulous persons and stray animals.

Mr Agyemang-Badu made the observation when he addressed the chiefs and people of Fiaso near Techiman to discuss measures the people could take to check the indiscriminate defecating in classrooms in the area as some bad nuts had turned the schools into places of convenience. He described the practice as disgraceful to the entire community and stressed the need for the Unit Committee, the Assemblyman and the traditional rulers to join hands to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to book.

Mr Agyemang-Badu, who is also the substantive Director of Education in the Nkoranza District re-echoed the need for parents to send their wards to school since education was the only legacy they could bequeath to them to enable them to grow to become responsible citizens. He urged parents to establish cordial relationships with the teachers and encourage them in their work.

Mr Agyemang-Badu reminded the people that the schools were their own property and that they should play their individual roles and responsibilities as stakeholders to move education forward. He advised the teachers to eschew negative practices such as absenteeism, lateness, laziness, drunkenness and apathy at work as those practices had adverse effect on children's education.

Teachers should live above reproach since they were role models in the communities to enable them to command the respect of people, he said.

Mr James Kwabena Osei, Assemblyman for Fiaso expressed regret about the problem confronting the school adding that, the incident had disgraced the entire community.

He stressed the need for parents to visit the schools regularly to interact with the teachers to encourage them to render the necessary services and also for them to know the academic performance and behaviour of their children.

The Circuit Supervisor in-charge of Techiman East Circuit Mr Seth Asah-Adjei urged School Management Committees (SMCs) and Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) to play their respective roles and responsibilities to promote the growth of education in the communities.

Nana Kwarteng Ameyaw, chief of the community announced that he would summon the people to a meeting to initiate moves to check the bad practices of the people to facilitate development. 9 July 05