Regional News of Monday, 7 June 2004

Source: GNA

SRCs urged to advocate moral discipline in schools

Begoro, June 7, GNA- The Fanteakwa District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Ebenezer Ofoe-Ceaser has urged Students Representative Councils (SRC) to advocate moral discipline among students than being seen as pressure groups always seeking their selfish interests in schools.

He noted that, if the SRC which was the co-ordinating unit between the student body and the school authorities had committed themselves to the cause of discipline in schools, most riots on campuses that had caused damage to government property would have been avoided.

Mr Caesar therefore, urged the SRC to review the role they have played so far in the educational sector and endeavour to go a step beyond those activities.

The DCE, who was speaking at the formal opening of the SRC Week to mark the second anniversary of the Begoro Presbyterian Secondary School (PRESEC) SRC on Saturday at Begoro, announced that the school had been selected to be the model school in the district under the grading of community schools initiative.

He pointed out to the students that they eventually suffer the penalty and the consequence of their actions when they are on campus "because your school records would be tarnished by your behaviour and you then become a misfit in wherever you find yourself" and urged them to comport themselves on campus.

The headmaster of the school, Mr Emmanuel Charway said the school was established 42 years ago with 40 students and now has a student population of 831, including 579 boarders.

He commended the out-going board members of the school whose efforts in the last four years had made it possible for the school to have reached that far and called on the SRC to co-operate with them to uphold the Presbyterian discipline in the school.

He however, said that, the school's performance in the Senior Secondary School certificate Examination(SSSCE) had not been the best.. Mr Charway explained that to improve the standard of academic work, the school had instituted a rigorous exercise since last year of repetitions and dismissals for poor academic performance and expressed the optimism that, "this will help , to reduce the number of failures in our final examinations".

The SRC President of the School, Daniel Teye assured the school of the SRC Executive Council's commitment to maintain discipline and good academic performance during their tenure of office.

The DCE was later presented with a citation by both the school and SRC for the support he had given to the school and the SRC during his tenure as the board chairman and conferred on him an associate patron of the SRC.