Stakeholders in education have been urged to support the Ghana Education Service to evolve benchmarks to make school sports attractive and rewarding. Packages such as scholarship schemes, bursaries and other incentive goodies in addition to sponsorship from corporate and private entities should be considered as necessary recipe towards reviving Schools and Colleges sports. Mr Cyprian K. Otti, Chairman of the Northern Zone Schools and Colleges Sports Federation made the appeal at the weeklong 19th Volta Region Northern Zone Inter-Schools Sports at the Hohoe E. P. Senior High School (HEPSS) at Hohoe. The 11 Senior High Schools (SHS) are competing in athletics, cross-country, football, volleyball, handball and table-tennis in the boys and girls categories. Mr Otti condemned the conversion of sporting infrastructure into other on-demand facilities for teaching and learning, which he said has resulted in anticlimax in the development and administration of sports in the school system. He said encroachment on school lands by the public have also considerably denied schools of land space to build and improve on sporting facilities. The Chairman therefore advocated for a think-tank to fashion out modalities towards reversing the unfortunate situation. Mr Otti who is the Headmaster of Likpe SHS said that the organization of the games have continued to be saddled with financial challenges annually and has increasingly affected the quality of the games, compelling organizers to exclude some important disciplines like hockey on their menu. He espoused the benefits of sports to the competing teams saying beyond its health implications the games was a platform for friendship, unity and source of foreign exchange. Mr William Meledi, Hohoe Municipal Coordinating Director, in a speech read on his behalf urged the officials and teams to demonstrate the highest professionalism and sportsmanship and play to the rules and regulations for the success of the competition. He urged the participants to avoid drugs and performance enhancing stimulants, which he said has been the waterloo for budding stars. Mr Meledi pledged the Municipality’s support to the total development and administration of school sports and called on the private sector to complement government’s effort to move the games to a higher level. In an opening football match, Agate SHS beat Alavanyo Senior Technical 5-4 on penalties after a barren game within the regulation time. The competing Senior High Schools are - HEPSS, Have, Likpe, Saint Mary’s, Jim Bourton, Leklebi, Afadjato, Agate, Akpafu, Ve-Community and Alavayo. Source: GNA