Afari (Ash), Aug 7, GNA - School Management Committees (SMCs) and community leaders in Afari, Nerebehi and Akrofrom in the Atwima-Nwabiagya District have deplored the alarming rate of child labour in the area.

They said some parents engaged school children to sale boiled maize and other food items in Kumasi during school hours and that the practice was undermining education delivery.

The SMCs expressed the concern at a day's workshop on the New Education Reform organized by the District Directorate of Education for community and opinion leaders in the area at Afari on Monday. The participants mentioned hostile attitude of some communities towards teachers, improper monitoring and supervision of school children at home, parents' failure to provide the needs of their children and some communities' apathy towards education as some major setbacks to development and promotion of education in the area. The community leaders condemned persistent defecation in classrooms and school premises and cautioned the perpetrators to stop the practice.

Nana Sarfo Ababio, Krontihene of Afari, advised basic school heads to demand transfer certificates from pupils from other schools who seek for admission to avoid the tendency of admitting undisciplined pupils.

Nana Ababio, who is the chairman of Afari SMC, lauded the new education reform and said it would adequately address youth unemployment.