Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Sports, Angelina Baiden-Amissah has stressed the need to intensify the teaching of French in schools. She said this is because Ghana is surrounded by French-speaking countries and it is important that French is given priority so that people can take advantage of the opportunities that globalisation offers. Mrs. Baiden-Amissah stated this when she addressed the fourth Founders’ Day celebration of St. John’s school over the weekend which was under the theme: "The role of education in curbing the moral and social decadence among the youth." She declared, "Globalisation has now made it such that besides being computer literate, one requires some proficiency in a foreign language especially French for communication purposes. This has heightened the need to intensify our knowledge in the French language." In this direction, the Deputy Minister pointed out that French teachers must be encouraged to teach effectively and whip the interest of students in the study of French to higher levels. Mrs. Baiden-Amissah announced that the French government through its embassy had provided books and other facilities to the ministry to be given to three teacher training colleges for the training of French teachers. "This is to facilitate the effective teaching and learning of French as a subject and also as a communication tool" She said in addition, French language centres had been opened in some selected secondary schools, including Accra High School and Nalerigu Secondary School in the Northern Region. She asked heads of schools to critically examine the issue of career counselling as it inadvertently influenced the choice of subjects or the study programme. According to her, some students selected passed well in some subjects but do not get admission into secondary schools because they did not satisfy the admission requirement of the tertiary institution. The Director of Science Education at the Ghana Education Service (GES) Mrs. Sophia Awortwe speaking on the theme said the education processes ensure that students are well groomed for life. “We should ensure that we give our children the kind of education that equips and prepares them not just to exist, but to be part of the world and understand it. She said that education is not only about training the student to pass examinations but about the holistic training that instils discipline in the student”. "It is therefore our divine duty, as educationists, parents and society, to create the right educational environment for these young ones to unveil their endowed and creative potential," The headmaster of the School Rev. Bor. Joseph K.B. Annan said that education must make the child functional. For this objective to be achieved, the society must think about the negative implications of its actions on the child, he said. Source: The Ghanaian Times