The Paramount Chief of Gomoa Akyempim Traditional Area, Obrifo Ahunako Ahor Ankobea II, has appealed to the government to reintroduce the 30 per cent quota of admitting students from a particular locality to senior high schools (SHS) in their areas. He recalled that the 30 per cent quota was introduced as a poverty-reduction strategy to help the rural poor send their children to SHS. Obrifo Ankobea said since the introduction of the computer selection and placement system about five years ago, the dream of many children in the rural areas securing SHS education had become a mirage, even if they had been selected and placed in schools, because their parents could not afford the boarding fees. The abolition of the 30 per cent quota which could help many brilliant pupils to attend SHS as day students had made them dropouts who roamed about aimlessly. Obrifo Ankobea made the appeal at the inauguration of Jabez Dominic Educational Institute, a combined grammar and technical institution at Abonyi in the Gomoa East District. He said the poverty levels in the rural areas were so acute that if the children did not get the chance to further their education as day students, the gap between the rural and urban areas would continue to widen. Obrifo Ankobea further appealed to the government to make it possible for private educational institutions, including the private universities, to enjoy interventions that the government had put in place for public schools. He argued that in addition to complementing the government's efforts to educate Ghanaian children, private institutions also produced professionals who contributed to the nation's development, just as the public sector did. The Omanhen stressed that there should be no discrimination between the two sides when it came to benefiting from state funds. "The authorities of private institutions will be compelled to reduce their fees if they are made to enjoy such facilities," he emphasised. The Gomoa East District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Isaac Kingsley Ahunu-Armah, said the development of the district depended on how well the citizens were educated. He appealed to parents to do away with habits such as excessive drinking, acquisition of many clothes and holding of expensive funerals and weddings, so that they could invest in the education of their children. "If you set education as your priority, you will be able to educate your children to the highest level, no matter the level of your poverty," the DCE stated. He commended the proprietor of the institute for deciding to establish the institution in the rural area instead of setting it up in the cities where the patronage would be higher. Mr Ahunu-Armah also appealed to teachers to work hard to produce quality products for the district. The Director of the institution, Mr Jabez Dominic Quartey, said he decided to establish the institute in the area to provide an opportunity for children in the area to have access to senior high school education. He appealed to parents to invest in the education of their children as the surest way of breaking the poverty cycle. The headmaster of the institute, Mr Patrick Agyensam, said the institution currently offered Home Economics, General Arts, Visual Arts, Business and Technical Courses and that highly qualified tutors had been recruited for lessons to commence on September 28, 2010. Source: GNA