Agona-Nkwanta (W/R), Sept. 21, GNA - Mr. Kwesi Biney, Ahanta West District Chief Executive has appealed to parents not to use poverty as an excuse to deny children their right to education. He said some parents claimed to be poor, but had money to litigate and spend money on funerals at the expense of their children's education.

Mr. Biney made the appeal during the presentation of educational materials to 50 needy children in the district at Agona-Nkwanta on Wednesday.

They were made up of school bags, uniforms and stationery supplied by the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Ghana Education Service (GES).

He regretted that most parents continued to shirk their responsibilities to their children's education and urged them to change their attitude.

Mr. Biney advised parents to prepare their children well for the future and pledged the commitment of the assembly to supplement their efforts.

He said the assembly would enter into agreement with students who gained admission into tertiary institutions to serve the district after their training to enable the assembly benefit from their services to enhance growth and human resource development. The DCE announced that the assembly and the World Bank had signed an agreement for the construction of Junior Secondary Schools at Butre and Apemanim.

He asked the beneficiary students to study hard and refrain from social vices that would retard their education adding; "the assembly would soon enact bye-laws that would make it an offence for children to patronise video centres, wake keeping or funerals." Mr. James Acquah, Assistant Director of Education said problems facing the educational sector was enormous and needed assistance from parents.

He said the Capitation grant did not mean parents must not provide for their children and advised parents to keep 'an eagle's eye' on their children to make them more responsible. Mr. John Asare, Ahanta West District Accountant of the GES warned parents not to use palm kernel oil and other substances to treat diseases in the ears of their children that could impaired their hearing.

He said a recent research conducted by the GES and the DFID among some children revealed that many of them had hearing problems while others had sticks, cotton wool and other substances stuck in their ears.