The Government has presented incentives to 52 facilitators of the Non-Formal Education Division (NFED) of the Ministry of Education at Bekwai in the Ashanti region. The items included bicycles, roofing sheets, ghetto blasters and sewing machines. The beneficiaries were selected from five districts in the region - Amansie East and West, Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma, Adansi North and Adansi South. Mr. Emmanuel Asamoah Owusu-Ansah, the Ashanti Regional Minister, in a speech read for him by Mr. Osei Assibey Antwi, the Deputy Regional Minister, said government attached importance to the functional literacy programme to enable adult learners contribute meaningfully towards socio-economic development. He commended the facilitators for their roles that enabled adult learners to acquire literacy skills and ventured into income-generating activities to improve their living conditions. Mr. Owusu-Ansah said "the world has become a global village and we need to keep our citizens abreast with global trends through communication, hence the necessity of this project." The Regional Minister lauded the involvement of NFED in explaining government programmes like the National Health Insurance Scheme, Immunization exercise and HIV/AIDS to the rural folks. He observed: "it is only when we are able to assist in the empowerment of women and the rural population that we could be heading towards the realization of our millennium goals." Mr. Francis Ampadu, Regional Co-ordinator of the NFED, disclosed that a total of 300,000 adults benefited from the second phase of the NFED programme between the year 2002 to 2006 in the region. Source: GNA