Mr Yakubu Assani,
Tolon Kumbungu District Director of Education, has commended the
Christian Children's Fund of Canada (CCFC) for its immense
contribution to educational development in the district.
Mr Assani made the commendation when the CCFC, an international charity and child-centred development Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), in conjunction with the Baptist Child Development Programme, also an NGO, presented educational materials worth over GH¢ 9,500 to about 600 pupils in five community schools in the district.
The beneficiary communities were Kasuliyili, Zali, Kunguri, Wantugu and Lingbun-Kundaa.
Mr Assani noted that in 2006, Kasuliyili presented 37 candidates for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), out of which 70 per cent passed, placing 13th among schools in the district.
In 2007, he said, the community presented 47 candidates, of which 85.1 per cent passed placing ninth among the schools in the district.
Mr Assani noted that the improvements in the performance were the direct results of the educational assistance that the CCFC had been offering to schools in the area over the years.
"I have been tracking the improvement of Kasuliyili in the BECE results and I have seen that with each passing year, the pupils are continuing to do better and better".
Mr Assani observed that in 2008, Kasuliyili presented 50 candidates out of which 47 passed, representing 94 per cent and said for the first time, 31 of the students gained admission into Senior High Schools (SHS) in the district.
Mrs Sanatu Nantogma, Country Director of CCFC said her organisation and its partner, Baptist Child Development Programme had been offering support to schools in the Kasuliyili area over the years.
She said: "We are doing this because we are committed to promoting education among deprived communities and to meeting the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which among other things, seeks to achieve universal primary education for all by 2015".
Mrs Nantogma said CCFC had identified a gap in education in the area of early childhood development and youth skills development adding: "we are therefore taking steps to address the situation in the not too distant future".
She called on the communities to find alternative means of supporting their children in school after CCFC's assistance had ended.
Mr James Amadu, Programme Coordinator of Baptist Child Development Programme said the two NGOs were supporting 13 volunteer teachers in the Untrained Teacher Training Diploma in Basic Education (UTTDBE) programme.
The two NGOs, he said, were also paying the fees for 46 students in Senior High Schools and Nurses' Training Colleges.
Mr Amadu said they also offered monthly allowances to 11 volunteer teachers, as well as donate materials, including notebooks, library books, pens, school uniforms and tables to schools in the area.