Department to shut down sub-standard pre-schools

The Department of Social Welfare has vowed to shut down all sub-standard and unauthorized pre-schools.

Mr Jacob Achulo, Ashanti Regional Director of the Department, said day-care centres, whose facilities did not meet the required standard would not be allowed to operate.

Opening a two-week training course for supervisors and proprietors of the centres in Kumasi, he said, they were determined to ensure that the right things were done for the safety of the children.

About 100 participants drawn from Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo are attending the training. They are being taking through a wide range of topics including administration and business management, first aid administration, the Children’s Act, childhood diseases, personal hygiene and record keeping.

They have been brought together by the Department to be assisted with the requisite skills for efficient performance.

Mr Achulo underlined the critical importance of pre-school education to the nurturing of children in their formative years and said that was why the centres needed to be properly supervised.

Mrs Patricia Kyeremanteng Berchie, Deputy Director in-charge of Child Rights Promotion and Protection, advised the proprietors to engage the right people at the centres.

She said proprietors must also pay the workers’ Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) contributions to ensure their future financial security.

Source: GNA