Issues bothering on education dominated a parliamentary dialogue organised by the Offinso North District Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) at Akumadan.
Three parliamentary candidates vying for the Offinso North Constituency seat took turns to respond to several questions on education, outlining their vision to transform education when given the opportunity to represent the people in parliament.
They are Dr. Fred Kyei Asamoah of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. Ceasar Ofosu Acheampong, National Democratic Congress (NDC), and Mr. Abdul Nasir Deen, People’s National Convention (PNC).
They spoke about various interventions they seek to implement to improve education in the constituency.
Dr. Asamoah said his primary objective was to invest in education to improve on the literacy rate in the constituency which is currently 55 per cent – far lower than the national rate of 70 per cent.
He said teachers were critical to quality education and pledged his commitment to provide them the needed incentives for them to deliver.
In addition, he would provide well-stocked libraries for communities as well as all the five senior high schools in the constituency to encourage reading among students.
The NDC candidate on the other hand, called for a review of the Free Senior High School Policy to address the infrastructure challenges and improve on quality.
He criticised the double- track system and suggested alternative solutions such as shift systems during the day to ensure continuous education without interruption.
Mr. Abdul Nasir Deen, the PNC candidate, announced his intention to invest in agriculture to make it profitable, saying that it was the best way to address unemployment, with about 5,000 youth in the constituency already into farming.
According to him, he would leverage on technology to make agriculture attractive to young people.
Ms. Alice OKwae Agyekum, the Acting District Director of NCCE, applauded the candidates for participating in the exercise which sought to deepen democracy and also offered them a platform to engage the people
She underlined the need for political parties to lead the campaign for peace as the country goes to the polls on December 7.
She called for decorous and issue-based campaigns by political parties as they canvassed for votes across the constituency.
Rev. Isaac Marfo, a Pastor of the Assemblies of God Church, who chaired the programme, emphasised the need for political actors to exhibit tolerance for their followers to emulate in the interest of peace.
The three candidates who are seeking to replace former Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Mr. Collins Ntim, believe they are the right choice to bring development to the constituency.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
