Mrs. Gifty Ama Serwah Hadzi Kumordzi, Headmistress of the Kaneshie North ‘3’ Primary School, in the Okaikwei South District, has reminded Ghanaians of government’s policy for every community to take active part in the running of schools in their areas.
She said; “If communities own the schools in their respective areas and do well to motivate the teachers, then they will be encouraged to go the extra mile, and this will help in their retention in the schools.”
She also made the parents to understand that the perception that students in the public schools did not study was a thing of the past and urged the children to study and stop depending on information from their peers.
Mrs Kumordzi made this assertion in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Bubiashie at the graduation ceremony of the school under the theme: “Improving Education through Community Participation,” in Accra.
She also raised serious concerns about robberies and lack of security in the area, which had given rise to criminal activities and urged the community members to form Neighbourhood Watch Committees to reduce rampant stealing of school properties.
“Our main challenge now is our kindergarten block which leaks badly anytime it rains,” adding that; “We have to close the school when it starts raining,” she stated.
The Headmistress said; “Another challenge the school faces is low enrolment even though they have enough classrooms, and qualified hardworking teachers, but the enrolment is not encouraging at all.”
On the performance of the Kaneshie North ‘3’ students, the school did well in just ended Reading Festival organised by the Accra Metropolitan Directorate of the Ghana Education Service.
“Two students who represented the circuit in ‘Spelling Bee’ and ‘Mother and Child’ activities emerged first and second positions respectively in these competitions,” Mrs Kumordzi stated.
She advised parents to make the upbringing of children a priority and be responsible for their educational and other needs.
Mr Mark Anthony Quaye, the Chairman of the Accra Metro Parent Teacher Association, called on the parents not to shirk their responsibilities so that together “we can have a holistic development of the child in a congenial atmosphere of partnership and solidarity.”
He expressed gratitude to one Mr Ernest Adomako, a community member and businessman, who solely painted all the four schools in the cluster, which he described as worthy of emulation and urged other stakeholders to exhibit the same in the years ahead.
Madam Jane Amerley Oku, the Chief Executive Officer of Janok Foundation, a community-based organisation, who chaired the graduation, said generality teaching was not the responsibility of teachers alone, but parents and the communities in which the children live.
She urged parents to supervise their wards when they come home from school and appealed to other organisations and philanthropists to donate towards education in the area.
