A six-day workshop on strengthening management and preventive maintenance of schools for executives of Parent-Teacher-Associations and School Management Committees has ended in Bolgatanga. The participants were taken through performance monitoring in academic work, access and participation in education, community management towards sustained maintenance of school infrastructure, promoting maintenance culture and analysing maintenance data. Sylvester Dery, Deputy Director in-charge of Planning and Monitoring at the Bolgatanga Municipal Education Directorate, addressing the closing session, said, School Management Committees were mandated to act as Board of Governors in second-cycle institutions. He said PTAs were voluntary and development oriented. Mr Dery noted that with the introduction of the Capitation Grant, PTAs had stopped development projects and given up their communal self-help spirit. He expressed concern at the poor maintenance culture and urged the participants to reverse the trend to ensure school infrastructure and furniture were maintained to prolong their life span. Mr Dery said under the education reforms, PTAs and SMCs were expected to sensitise their communities to accept their responsibilities to maintain and assist schools in their areas to develop. He asked them to ensure the effective utilisation of contact hours by visiting the schools regularly to interact with pupils and staff to build mutual trust. " An effective PTA and SMC could motivate teachers and pupils to achieve better academic laurels," he added. Mr Dery commended management of Community Based Rural Development Project (CBRDP) for sponsoring the workshop and urged them to provide more funds for visits to the schools to assess the impact of the workshop in the communities. Source: GNA