Winneba, March 22, GNA - The MP for Effutu, Mr Mike Allen Hammah, has called for the re-orientation of the country's Educational programme

to meet its developmental needs. He said for the nation to compete favourably at all levels in the 21st century, efforts should be made to improve her intellectual and skilled manpower production base.

Mr Hammah was speaking at a ceremony at which, students of Kwegyir Aggrey Hall of the University of Education at Winneba launched a special educational endowment fund dubbed "OBAAPA 2003" to cater for needy children in the area.

Mr Hammah was optimistic that when the educational system is effectively re-oriented Ghana could produce the needed manpower resources, which would be able to face the challenges posed by international economic competitiveness.

He said to achieve this, the government should put in place a comprehensive policy framework that would ensure perpetual enhancement of the facility of human resource production base.

Mr Hammah praised initiators of the fund and appealed to People in and outside Winneba to contribute to it to ensure the attainment of the objective for which it was set up. The MP donated one million cedis from his share of the common fund to support the educational endowment fund.

He hoped parents facing abject poverty would take advantage of the fund to send their children to school to enable them to offer their children, at least, basic education.