A fifty-nine year old works foreman of the Ghana Highway Authority has been enskinned the new chief of Bulenga in the Chakalo Traditional Area of the Upper West Region. Known in private life as Abdulai Seifu, he has been enskinned as Naa Seidu Nawologime IV. Speaking at the enskinment ceremony a member of the Council of State, Naa Seidu Braimah, said the time had come for the chieftaincy institution to assert itself in national development. He said the falling standards of education made it imperative for chiefs in the country to make education a priority, stressing that the worst affected areas were the three northern regions. Naa Braimah who is also the chief of Guli said education help the key to the reduction of poverty in the three regions and it was therefore important for chiefs to foster closer collaboration with government to ensure better education for the youth. “Education holds the key for total emancipation of the individual and nothing can replace it. It therefore urges our chiefs to rally the people to lift education high in the area,” he added. He commended the Chakalo Traditional Council for ensuring a peaceful and incident free enskinment adding that the peaceful nature of the installation demonstrated the fact that all was not lost for the chieftaincy institution in the region. Naa Braimah admonished the newly enskinned chief to ensure harmonious co-existence with his subject by eschewing pettiness and rumour mongering in order to bring about the needed development that the area required. On his part, the Upper West Regional Minister, Alhaji Issaku Saliah said government remained committed to the development of that country and education was integral in achieving this. He said government would not relent it its efforts at delivering quality and accessible education to the people adding that the last three years had witnessed some remarkable achievements in spite of the poor performance exhibited at the basic certificate examinations this year. Alhaji Saliah said even though the political authority was the one tasked with ensuring the delivery of education, traditional authority and other stakeholders had a role to play to improve on academic activities in the country. The Dorimon Naa, Naa Sohimininye Danah Gore II, who is also the Upper West Regional President of House of Chiefs called on the government to open up more teacher training colleges to commensurate with the number of schools springing up across the region. He said the establishment of more teacher training institutions in the country would go a long way to provide the needed human resource to man the schools and, therefore, help solve the challenges confronting education in the country. Naa Gore II pledged to ensure that the newly installed chief was gazetted through the Regional House of Chiefs.