Mr. George Dadzie, a member of the Council of State, on Thursday called on the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to build more basic schools to improve the standards of education in the country.
He said that even though the official policy of the Ministry of Education was that no child should travel more than five kilometres to
attend basic school, some children in the Western Region travelled between 10 and 16 kilometres to school.
Mr. Dadzie was addressing the first meeting of the fourth session of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly, in Sekondi.
The Council of State member called for a review of the de-boardinisation policy and said some Senior High Schools (SHSs) either did
not have boarding facilities or had inadequate facilities.
He said that government would provide more classroom blocks to end the school shift system and the holding of classes under trees, and construct Kindergartens.
Mr. Dadzie said some children, particularly those in the rural areas, were unable to access SHS education in the region because of proximity to schools.
He said government would implement policies to protect the vulnerable and disadvantaged in society and provide free education for all disabled children of school going age.
Mr. Dadzie advised school children to refrain from drug abuse and other social vices and take their studies seriously to enable them to acquire skills and knowledge needed for national development.
He appealed to the Western Regional House of Chiefs to use the Alternative Dispute Mechanism to resolve the chieftaincy disputes in the area, saying they could affect the country's fledgling democracy and the rule of law.
Mr. Dadzie suggested the institution of "Western Region Day" to give the people the opportunity to discuss the development of the region.
He asked government to rehabilitate roads in the region to boost cocoa production and other economic activities.
Mr. Kobina Pra Annan, the Metropolitan Chief Executive, said the assembly would improve its internal revenue generation towards the execution of projects and programmes.
He said the assembly would also establish Information and Communication Technology fund to enable it provide computers to basic schools and develop the Takoradi Central Market into a modern shopping mall.