Odeneho Gyapong Ababio, President of the National House of Chiefs, on Saturday noted that the role of private schools was vital for national development. He said many children of school going age wouldn't have had access to basic education but for the establishment of educational institutions in their communities. Odeneho Ababio said these at the 13th anniversary and speech and prize-giving day of Saint Peter's International School at Namibia near Takoradi. He urged parents to work hard and encourage their children to stay in school and complete. Odeneho Ababio asked girls not to consider science and mathematics as courses for boys and instead take the study of those programmes seriously. Mrs Rebecca E. Dadzie, Western Regional Director of Education, said the training of children was a collective responsibility of teachers, government, communities and parents. She appealed to private schools to charge moderate to enable poor parents enrol their children. Mrs Dadzie commended award winners for their achievements and urged them to work harder to win more laurels. In an address read on her behalf, Mrs Gladys Asmah, Member of Parliament for Takoradi, said the early childhood care and development policy adopted by government was aimed at moulding children at an early stage of their development. She said children at pre-school level must be helped to develop their emotional stability, cognitive skills, numeracy ability, and to become socialised. Mrs Asmah said "we need to double our efforts at bringing up children in the expected descent and responsible manner for the good of the society in general." She advised school children to respect authority and take their studies seriously to enable them pass their examinations to justify the investment being made in their education. Mr. Isaac Sam-Cudjoe, the head teacher of the school, said the school emerged first nationwide in a mathematics quiz competition organised this year. He also said the school had awarded scholarship to eight of its pupils to enable them to complete their education. A new Junior High School (JHS) block was commissioned as part of the programme. Book, television, certificate and other prizes were presented to deserving students and teachers for the hard work, and excellence. Source: GNA