The Atwima District Early Childhood Educators Association has held its third annual conference with a call on pre-school teachers not to allow financial difficulties, culture, gender issues and conflict affect the child's Right to quality education.
" There will be no moral justification in denying a child of the right to quality education, considering the Convention on the Rights of the child which Ghana was the first country to ratify", Mr Eddy Obeng-Darko, the Atwima District Director of Education has said.
He was speaking on the topic, "Emerging Trends in Early Childhood Education in Ghana : The Role of the Educator in the Community", at Nkawie on Friday.
Mr Obeng-Darko, who is also the National President of Conference of District Directors of Education (CODDE), said the early childhood care and development programme formed part of social development of the child that required much attention.
He said it was therefore a relief that the new education review programme had absorbed pre-school education into the formal structure.
Mr Obeng-Darko said communities would adequately benefit from the programme on early childhood development, if educators would appreciate gender issues to enable them to adopt effective strategies towards early child development.
He said the educators should serve as role models for people in their communities adding, "You should change certain negative practices which help to deepen the stereotypes in the society".
Mr Obeng-Darko said the deprivation of children of maintenance, health care, education, thus forcing them to do odd jobs for a living were great challenges to early childhood educators.
Mr Emmanuel Duah Atobrah, a civic education officer at the Atwima District office of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), spoke on "Child Development, A Collective Responsibility".
He said the society had a major responsibility of inculcating in the child virtues, norms and providing serene environment for child development.
Mr Duah Atobrah asked all stakeholders concerned with Early Child Development programmes to initiate better strategies to enhance the development of the child.
Mrs Victoria Buachie-Aphram, President of the Association, said the group aimed at raising the image and improving the role of educators to facilitate early childhood education.
Mr F.C.K. Ntim-Gyakari, Atwima District Chairman of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), urged the Association to address issues that militated against child development.
He advised the teachers to take advantage of the distance education programme to improve upon their academic and professional capacity to enhance teaching and learning.