The District Chief Executive (DCE) of Tain District in the Brong Ahafo Region, Ms Charity Akua Foriwaa Dwommoh had the shock of her life when a 10-year old pupil of one of the basic schools in the district told her she wants to drop out of school and marry.
According to the DCE on Kumasi-based Angel Fm monitored by MyNewsGH.com, she literally broke down in tears on hearing what the intention of the little girl during one of her working visits to the school
She expressed worry about the growing trend of children in the area not interested in the education despite the opportunities it provides for them now and in the future.
“In my district, children don’t like to go to school” Ms Charity Akua Foriwaa Dwommoh disclosed in an interview on Kumasi-based Angel Fm recounting her most recent experience with her kids at the first day where most classrooms were empty.
“During my first day in school, I was filled with sorrow. When I visited these kids and conversed with them, I asked one of these kids what she wanted to be if future. She is at the age of about eleven years…she looked straight into my eyes and said, Mama, I want to leave school and marry. In fact, that day I couldn’t eat my supper. I was shocked because she had no aim apart from getting married”. Ms. Dwommoh revealed.
The DCE further noted she has to do more for her kids to understand the essence of education for them to be more interested in it than previous years.
“I want to be role a model for them. Through the challenge I threw to them, we have been able to improve on the BECE result from 17% pass rate to 60%, I’m expecting 90% pass rate this time”. She noted
Explaining further, the DCE blamed parents in the district for the low performance of her kids adding that, teachers are doing sacrificial jobs.
“When I look at the conditions under which teachers are working, its sacrificial work”, she lauded teachers in the area for a good job done.
“I love the kids and the kids love me”.
Throwing more light on mechanisms put in place to help her kids, Ms Dwommoh indicated she organized a special seminar for them on how to answer examination questions and also provided mathematical sets for every candidate of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) this year.
She also confirmed the district is now sponsoring some kids in their education to serve as motivation for others to work harder.
Providing educational trips is also another area Ms. Dwommoh noted her kids are going to enjoy to serve as motivation expressing hope that this and many others will entice them to be at school.
Source: MyNewsGH.com
