Agona Swedru, June 12, GNA - Parents in the Agona Swedru township have accused the Agona District Directorate of the Ghana Education Service (GES) of granting permission to some organisations to exploit school Children.

According to them some self-styled organisations had invaded both public and private schools claiming to help shape the vision of children and to develop their talents.

Mr Kojo Okyere, a parent told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that last Saturday, a group called the School Talent Education Festival (STEF), organised a programme with permission from the GES to extort 5,000 from the children as gate fees.

He said the group assured the children and their teachers that they were going to organise a raffle draw and sale of some of products during the programme.

Mr Okyere noted that with concern that some of the children won valuable items like mobile phones at the programme at a hotel, but refused to give them the items.

He said investigations by some parents revealed that the group absconded with the money they had to give to the judges; site-seeing guides and teachers engaged for the programme. A female teacher who pleaded anonymity told GNA that the organisers paid her 70,000 cedis instead 170, 000 for the sale of tickets. Mr Okyere accused the GES of helping to promote sexual promiscuity and indiscipline among the children since they stayed the whole at the hotel.

Mr Kofi Mensah, another parent said the organisers went to schools making vain promises to take both children and teachers abroad using the name of some reputable companies as their sponsors. He noted that if the organisations were not stopped they would continue to dupe innocent children and teachers under the pretext of securing visas and other travel documents for them to travel outside the country.

Mr Mensah appealed to the Director-General of the GES to impress upon the various Districts Directorates to investigate the background of these organisations before granting them permission to organise programmes for school children. 12 June 06