A member of the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC), Mr. Emmanuel Kuyole has suggested the recruitment of highly intelligent people under the National Youth Employment Programme for the Community Education Teaching Assistant Module. "The fact that teachers are needed in the schools should not make us sacrifice quality for quantity", he stated. He made the appeal at a durbar organized by GNECC in collaboration with the Gomoa District Directorate of Education for stakeholders in education at Gomoa Ankamu near Apam as part of the Global Action Week. The durbar to deliberate on research findings on falling standard of education in Gomoa District was attended by chiefs, teachers, pupils, education administrators, Members of Parliament and education-biased organisations. The research conducted under the auspices of GNECC, became necessary when 15 Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) in the district scored zero percent in the 2006 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). Mr. Kuyole said GNECC, as a network of civil society organizations, professional bodies, educational and research institutions and other practitioners to help Ghanaians children to have access to free quality basic education, could not take the development lightly. He said copies of the findings would be sent to Parliament, Ministry of Education, Science and Sports and the Ghana Education Service for study and action. Dr. Yaw Ofosu Kusi, Head of the Social Studies Department of the University of Education, Winneba, who conducted the research blamed poor teaching staff and school infrastructure, lack of textbooks, reference materials and science kits for the abysmal performance of students in the BECE. Lack of community and parental support and control of children especially during wake keepings and festivals and over-burdening them with household chores accounted for their inability to perform well, Dr. Kusi noted. He suggested the establishment of mobile library services for schools. Mr. Sam Quarm, MP for Gomoa East, blamed the problem on the large size of the district, which made supervision and monitoring difficult and called on the government to split it into two without further delay. Mr. Joe Kingsley Hackman, MP for Gomoa West, attributed the falling standard to the inability of pupils to read and understand and said he had earmarked a library project for seven schools in the area. Mr. Fred Addae, District Coordinating Director, appealed to parents not to use the school-feeding programme as an excuse to deny their children breakfast since they were fed only during lunchtime. Ms. Rosemond Blay, Central Regional Director of Education, appealed to parents to attach importance to the education of their children to break the poverty cycle. Okatakyi Nyanfo Krampah X, Paramount Chief of Gomoa Ajumako, expressed concern about child neglect and appealed to parents to live up to their responsibilities. The Omanhene of Gomoa Akyempim, Obrifo Ahunaku Ahor Ankobea II, appealed to the District Assembly to impress upon the communities to enact by-laws to control the movement of children at night especially during funerals and festivals. Source: GNA