The Member of Parliament (MP) for Asuogyaman, Mr Thomas Ampem Nyarko, has clashed with the District Chief Executive (DCE) for the area, Mr Samuel Kwasi Agyekum, over distribution of exercise books to basic school pupils.
The DCE has cautioned that he would not allow the lawmaker to distribute the exercise books which, he says, are ostensibly to score cheap political points.
The contentious exercise books have been customised with the picture of the MP on the front cover and Ghana map at the back cover.
Some 10,000 pieces of the exercise books procured by the MP are ready for distribution in the first phase of the exercise, which is part of interventions to cushion parents in taking care of their children in school.
But, the DCE for the area said he would not allow the MP to distribute the exercise books and directed the District Education Oversight Committee to summon the MP to a meeting, where he was officially prohibited from distributing the books.
The MP, shocked by the DCE’s decision, told the committee similar customised exercise books had been distributed by some MPs, but his explanations fell on deaf ears.
The District Education Director, Mavis Yirenkyi, and Nana Ofei Boadu, both members of the committee, said the committee is still deliberating on the matter.
Some educationists in the Asuogyaman District have warned stakeholders to be apolitical in their interventions aimed at solving the fallen education standard in the area.
Available statistics indicate that only four students from the entire district scored aggregate six in the 2016 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
The MP has initiated some interventions such as provision of school infrastructure and teachers’ accommodation, organisation of mock exam and recently introduced free meals for BECE candidates throughout the five-day exam period, all aimed at improving students’ performance.
<<Print>>