The Western Regional Minister, A E Amoah, has directed officials of the Department of Social Welfare to close down any Day Care Centre in the region which exhibits clear and deliberate unwillingness to upgrade its standard. He said the welfare and interest of the nation's children cannot be compromised and that it is obligatory on the part of the Department to line up to its oversight responsibility so as to ensure that day care centres do well in the provision of the right facilities for children's total upbringing. The Minister issued the directive in a speech read on his behalf at the graduation of forty-six day care attendants for the region in Takoradi over the weekend. The three-month training programme, which was organised by the Department, took the granduants through topics like 'Mathematics’, Child Development’, ‘ Daily Routine’ and ‘Healthy Interaction’. Mr Amoah noted that any society that does not accord importance to its young ones is preparing for a future without hope for development and growth, since children are the future leaders. He said all efforts must be made to adequately prepare the young ones to take the mantle of leadership. He said it was for this reason that Government has introduced the policy of ensuring that all school going children start at kindergarten which has been inculcated into the main stream of education. The minister intimated that it was in this regard that all day care centres in the country are being streamlined to ensure that proper care , protection and development are provided for the children. He was however not happy with the poor salaries currently being received by many day care attendants and called on both parents and proprietors to take a second look at this issue in order to raise their morale to offer their best. The regional director of the Department of Social Welfare, Joana Mensah, disclosed that her office intends to organise similar training programmes for day care attendants in the Western Region twice a year to ensure that there are enough trained attendants in the system. Commenting on the theme for the occasion, "The day care and empowerment of women" the Minister of Fisheries and MP for Takoradi, Gladys Asmah, in a speech read on her behalf said the greatest revolution in any country is the one that affects the status and living conditions of women. She said if women could be empowered properly to participate effectively in decision making, then there is the need for professional support for the care of the home, especially care of children. Day care centres, she said, can therefore not be ruled out. A tape for an exhibition of the products by the 46 grandaunts was later in the day cut by the regional director of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, Edna Nyame. Source: The Statesman