Bolgatanga (UE), May 23, GNA - The Upper East Region has taken delivery of 18,000 pre-cut school uniforms from government. The pre-cut uniforms are to be shared equally among the nine districts in the Region with each receiving 2,000. They have been cut out for each child and are to be sewn at the district level.

The Region had already received 11,799 sewn school uniforms that were distributed to needy schools. In addition the Region also took delivery of two million exercise books to be distributed to schools. Presenting the uniform material to the Regional Director of Education at Bolgatanga last Friday, the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo explained that it was in fulfillment of government's pledge to support deprived schools. He entreated the District Directors of Education and the District Chief Executives to team up and distribute the uniforms to needy schools in their areas. Mr Woyongo asked them to get competent dressmakers in their districts to sew the school uniforms. This according to him was an avenue for job creation.

He said government would also provide classrooms to 4,000 schools, presently under trees nationwide and added that 31 under trees schools in the Upper East Region had already been earmarked for construction and that the contract would awarded by the close of May. The Regional Minister said to rectify accommodation problems that would be faced by students of the Senior High Schools due to increase from three to four years, the government had directed that additional class rooms be provided to accommodate the students during this academic year. For the start, 14 schools in the Region would be benefiting. The Minister, who was however unhappy about the poor educational standards in the Region, urged the Regional Director of Education and District Directors of Education to come out with a strategy to address the problem.

The Acting Regional Director of Education, Mrs Agnes Atagabe, who received the school uniforms, thanked government for the items and said it would relieve parents of their burdens and improve educational standards. She assured the Regional Minister that the Regional and the District Directorates would work hard to address the poor standards of education in the Region. 23 May 10