Computer games and snookers hve been identified as the major cause of the decline in education standards in the Asawase constituency in Kumasi.
Mr. Hafiz Abubakar, Secretary of the Asawase Central Civic Union, a Community-Based Organization (CBO), said the games which are operated by private individuals especially during school hours have pupils and students patronizing them to the detriment of attending classes.
He said research conducted by the union last year in collaboration with stake holders showed that many young people spend class hours playing computer games and snookers.
This compelled them to skip classes, affecting their academic performance and leading to the overall decline in education standards in basic schools at Asawase, said Mr Abubakar.
He was speaking at the inauguration at the Asawase branch of the Union in Kumasi.
Mr. Abubakar said to address the anomaly the Union, in collaboration with stakeholders in education, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Asawase, Alhaji Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak and the Asawase Sub-Metro Education Office and Town Council, have constituted a task force to check the practice of patronizing computer games during class hours by pupils and students.
He said task force met all operators of computer games and snookers in the area to discuss ways of putting a stop to their operations during class hours and to operate their business after classes.
He said the meeting was fruitful as the union's investigations showed that enrolment in the 28 basic schools they used as case study had improved tremendously with pupils and students attending classes as usual.
Mr. Abubakar said his outfit, in collaboration with some philanthropists, had started constructing fence walls around the cluster of schools at Asawase to help check the movement of pupils and students.
He said parents have also been directed to collaborate effectively with school authorities and the union in monitoring the academic performance of their wards for the benefit of educational development at Asawase.
An 11-member Executive charged to run the affairs of the Asawase Central Civic Union was inaugurated with Mr. Haruna Ahmad as Chairman.
The rest are Mr. Mohammed Mubarak, Treasurer, Mr. Yahaya Mohammed, Public Relations Officer and Madam Munira Abdul-Aziz, Organizer.