Shama, March 2, GNA - The Shama District Assembly (SDA) has taken stringent measures to check the falling standards of education in the are= a, evidenced by the poor performance at the basic education certificate examination (BECE).

The BECE results for last year showed that, out of the 17 districts in the Western Region, the Shama district came 16, recording 70 percent failure. This was disclosed by Madam Emelia Arthur, Shama District Chief Executive (DCE) to the Ghana News Agency, when she toured the 18 Junior H= igh Schools in the district to collate views on the situation to find solutio= ns to the problem.

Among the measures were, the closure of all video centres from 8am t= o 2pm daily while the assembly would hold workshops on specific subjects fo= r teachers as well as mock examinations for students in the area among othe= rs.

She said part of the programmes were sponsored by the Takoradi International Company, an energy firm at Aboadze, at the cost of GHC11, 276.80. During an interaction with stakeholders at a meeting, Madam Arthur t= old the parents that education was a shared responsibility, so it was incumbe= nt on them to create a congenial atmosphere at home for their children to study.

"You should monitor their activities and also endeavour to provide their basic needs, to prevent them falling prey to social vices". Some of the teachers complained of the lack logistics for effective monitoring and supervision, while the students were not happy with their parents and guardians for their inability to provide them with the basic necessities, forcing them to depend on other sources for support. The DCE said research conducted by the assembly revealed that the students frequent video centres and indulge in truancy and social vices, leading to bad performances in school, adding that, the assembly would do=

its best to improvement on the situation.