Mr. Joseph Kwabena Onyinah, Ashanti Regional Director of Education, has expressed worry that unfavourable social conditions were undermining academic work in schools in the country.
He said: "There is moral degeneration, drug abuse, cyber crime, popularly called "Sakawa" and occultism among the youth."
Mr. Onyinah was speaking at the Regional Basic Schools festival of arts, held on the theme: "Culture, an Epitome of our Moral Values", at the Centre for National Culture in Kumasi.
School children from 20 out of 21 schools in the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Education Directorates, took part in choral music, sight singing, drama, poetry recital, drum language, dance choreography and verbal arts.
Mr. Onyinah advised school children to take their studies seriously to enable them to acquire skills and knowledge required for national development.
Mr. Kofi Opoku Agyeman, Ashanti Regional Co-ordinator of Culture at the Ghana Education Service (GES), called for the re-introduction of cultural studies in basic schools to help unearth artistic talents of the youth.
The Kumasi Metropolitan Education Directorate emerged the overall champions of the competition, which was organised to select the best performers to represent the region at the national festival to be held. in Wa, Upper West Region, in September this year.