GOVT to support kindergartens

THE government has initiated moves to provide resources to support the expansion of kindergarten facilities by district assemblies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), churches, among other groups.
In line with that, the government will provide kindergartens with teaching and learning materials, as well as train teachers to help equip them fully with the new syllabus under the new educational system.
The Accra Metro Director of Education, Nii Okaija Dinsey, disclosed this at the launch of the 40th anniversary of the Ghana Education Service (GES) Model School in Accra.
He said the initiative was the result of the crucial role played by pre-school in shaping the formative years of children, especially those from less privileged family backgrounds with initial educational challenges.
Mr Dinsey said the government had decided that kindergarten education, which had progressively become a part of the free compulsory universal basic education structure, as indicated in the 2007 educational reform, be given the necessary support.
He stated that some of the modalities for the realisation of the reform by 2015 included co-operation with private sector providers of kindergarten education, adding that it included the supply of textbooks, syllabus and other logistics to schools.
The objective, the director noted, was to ensure that all primary schoolchildren had good foundation that was rooted in quality kindergarten education.
The Headmistress of the school, Mrs Alberta Appietu-Ankrah, said the school, which started with 25 pupils, now had 350 pupils.
“It was established to serve as a demonstration facility for the training of pre-school teachers, as well as provide a better structure for the nursery concept in the country, hence the name model school,” she explained.
Mrs Appietu-Ankrah said the theme for the anniversary was, ”Building the Foundation Block for the next Generation”.
She outlined the activities for the anniversary, which included a painting competition for the pre-school children, seminars on early childhood development, a special anniversary fun day for kids, among others.
The headmistress thanked the parent-teacher association (PTA) of the school and other organisations for their support.