Koforidua, Feb. 26, GNA - The practice and application of Ghanaian culture does not constitute pagan worship, Mr Francis Kingsley Obeng, Eastern Regional Director of Centre for National Culture (CNC) has said. Mr Obeng said if managed well, the country's culture could attract more tourists into the country, thereby generating more income into the economy.

He was opening a drama and poetry festival for eight basic schools at Koforidua on Thursday. The festival was organized by the CNC in collaboration with Unimax Macmillan Limited and Ghana Telecom.

Mr Obeng said the CNC's major objective was to collaborate with the Ghana Education Service to equip school children with the requisite knowledge and skills to prepare them for the future. He said the programme was expected to serve as a forum for educating, entertaining and informing the children on the need to take Ghanaian culture seriously.

"We believe that information could easily reach children for a meaningful understanding through enactment, by use of gestures, expressions, emotions, and dialogue," he said. Mrs Christiana Agyare Boateng, New Juaben Municipal Director of Education, said it was sad that the current educational system placed much emphasis on the child passing his examination, leaving little room for ways to identify its true potential. She said as the child was under pressure to attain certain scores, it became frustrated, confused and very depressed, which eventually could kill its inner "God-given potential".

Mrs Boateng urged teachers and parents to identify their roles to assist their children to discover their inner potential and guide them until they blossom into well-endowed skills for the benefits of the entire nation, and the world, "as in the case of (former UN Chief) Mr Kofi Annan".

The Member of Parliament for New Juaben South, Ms Beatrice Bernice Boateng, urged parents to see the huge spending on their children's education as a worthy investment.