Kobina Pra Annan, Metropolitan (MCE) Chief Executive of Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) stunned a section of students in the metropolis recently when he blatantly told them government cannot provide them with jobs therefore they should cultivate the habit of saving to enable them become self-reliant after graduation. He indicated that it was about time students in both secondary and tertiary institutions in the country thought about becoming self-employed after completing their education rather than thinking about being employed in white colour jobs that do not exist. "It is very prudent to cultivate a savings habit now that you are young. Try to save towards your future to become financially in¬dependent and economically productive," he emphasized. Mr. Annan was addressing members of Youth Savings Club (YSC), a subsidiary of the Credit Union Association (CUA) of Ghana Limited during its 10th Anniversary Celebration held in Takoradi. YSC, an initiative of Elizabeth Aba Smith, Headmistress of Bompeh Secondary Technical School in Takoradi was formed in 1999 in partnership with the Canadian Cooperative Association with a focus on Senior High School students. The club which started with 62 students at the Bompeh School, can now boast of about 10,600 students in 38 schools nationwide with a total savings of GH¢ 95,000. Among the aims of the club is to inculcate the habit of saving into the youth to take the place of adults in credit union activities. According to Madam Smith, the students' savings could be used to pay their own school fees, register for examinations, buy important books and purchase admission forms for entry into tertiary institutions among others. Nana Kofi Mbiah, Metro Director of Education noted that the initiative has opened a new chapter in cost-sharing with regards to education delivery and promises a big relief to parents struggling to take their wards through secondary education. He proposed that Ghana Education Service (GES) should critically examine the operations of YSC and incorporate its useful practices and success stories in a specialized module for the Business Elective syllabus in schools. . Awushie Nyamadi, Financial Secretary of YSC at Bompeh Senior High School noted that the habit of saving has not been instilled in the youth hence the difficulty in making sound economic decisions. This, she said has been the root cause for perpetuating the cycle of poverty which is depriving some young ones of their education. She stressed that to provide practical solutions to the problem the YSC was initiated ten years ago. Source: Daily Guide