Prof. Opoku-Agyemang interacts with pupils in Tamale - On ‘My first day at school’
The Minister of Education, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, has advised teachers and school administrators to create a conducive learning environment to encourage pupils to attend school.
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She observed that many pupils were reluctant to go to school due to fears they attached to the school environment.
"Your main job as a teacher is to make your children happy to stay in school", she indicated.
My first day at school
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang gave the advice when she visited some schools in Tamale in the Northern Region as part of activities to mark this year's "My first day at school."
She explained that many children, after their first day in school, felt uneasy coming back to the learning facility because of how school authorities and teachers handled them.
To help address the situation, the minister directed teachers to engage pupils in activities that would encourage them to come to school regularly.
She suggested the use of local languages at the nursery and lower primary levels as some of the measures that could be employed to inspire children to stay in school.
"We don't want parents to be struggling to bring their children to school simply because the children fear to come to school", Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said.
Learning materials
The minister was accompanied by the Deputy Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji A. B Fuseini, the Acting Director General of the Ghana Education Service Education (GES), Mr Jacob Kor, and some officials from GES in the Northern Region. Their first port of call was the Barwah Barracks Basic School where she interacted with the children.
The pupils were presented with biscuits, chocolates and some learning materials.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang and her team also visited Kamina and Dahi Sheili basic schools all in Tamale.
Commendation
In an interview with the Daily Graphic after her tour, she expressed appreciation of the way the teachers were handling their pupils, particularly the first timers.
"I am very impressed about the way the teachers handle the children here", the minister stated.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang, however, advised the teachers to be more innovative in teaching the children, especially at the creche and lower primary levels.
Cape Coast
Shirley Asiedu-Addo reports from the Ekon Primary B School in Cape Coast that the Central Regional Minister, Mr Aquinas Tawiah Quansah, who also toured some schools to mark the day, gave the assurance that the government would provide basic materials for effective teaching and learning in schools.
“We have ensured that you have enough chalk, registers, teachers’ note books, and uniforms to make teaching and learning effective for both teachers and pupils,” he said.
Mr Quansah was accompanied by the Cape Coast Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mrs Priscilla Arhin Korankye, the Regional Director of Education, Mr B. T. Ofori and the Metropolitan Director of Education, Ms Florence Inkoom.
He presented items such as school uniforms, teachers’ notebooks, books and chalk to the pupils and the school.
Among the schools visited were the Ekon Early Childhood Development Centre and the Wesley Girls Basic School.
