The Kumasi Metropolitan directorate of the Ghana Education Service is set to start a Reading competition among public basic schools in the metropolis this academic term.
The initiative seeks to improve the literacy skills among the pupils and also engender reading in them.
The Kumasi Metro Director of Education, Mrs. Martha Owusu Agyemang, disclosed this to GBC24 when she joined some government functionaries to commemorate this year’s edition of ‘My First Day @ School.’
Commemoration of this year’s edition of ‘My First Day @ School’ was deliberately rescheduled from Tuesday, September 11, when the new term
for the 2018/2019 academic year opened to Tuesday, September 17 to enable government functionaries closely monitor the start of the Dual system of the free education policy.
The Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive, Osei Assibey Antwi, was joined by the Convener and some members of the Education Sub-Committee of the KMA, the Kumasi Metro Director of Education, Mrs. Martha Owusu Agyemang, and some staff of her office to tour selected basic schools in the city.
Among these schools were the New Tafo/Dichemso M/A Basic Schools at Dichemso, Adumanu M/A Basic Schools and the Santase M/A Basic schools in the Nhyiaeso Sub-Metro. At the Danyame M/A Basic Schools, a total of 370 pupils were enrolled.
The officials presented to pupils of KG One, Primary One and B.S. One assorted gifts such as sandals, exercise books, pens and snacks as souvenir of the occasion. The Metro Director of Education explained to the pupils that the officials were there to welcome them to school and to assure them that education is good for both their personal and social development.
The KMA Chief Executive, Mr. Osei Assibey Antwi, explained that education remains as the key to development and that the pupils could be guaranteed good future if they applied themselves diligently to their studies.
The pupils made a passionate appeal to the KMA to either replace the only toilet which is in a very bad state but serves both the staff and pupils.
They also appealed for completion of a three classroom block which construction started more than 10 years ago to create space for teaching and learning.
At the Santasi M/A Basic schools, 41 children had already been enrolled into KG One, while Primary One had 50 pupils.
The enrolment figures at the Adumanu M/A Basic Schools was not all that encouraging. While 20 children had been registered for KG One, Primary One had 27 pupils.
In an interview with GBC, the Metro Director of Education, Mrs. Martha Owusu Agyemang explained that a contest to inculcate reading among public basic school pupils which will also prepare the Metropolis for the Independence Day national Reading Contest will start this term.
