(Accra, Dec. 2, 2004)

Thirty -four (34) Paramount and Divisional chiefs in the upper East Region, have pledged to eradicate all customary practices that militate against educational development.

They gave the undertaken at the end of a two-day conference in Bolgatanga, on the theme: "The Role of Chiefs in Promoting Education in Northern Ghana", that brought to the fore the perceived cultural and customary beliefs that inhibit education especially the enrolment of the girl-child in school.

The chiefs identified female genital mutilation, polygamy, and child labour as some of the practices that retarded the education and development of children in the three northern regions. They reaffirmed their determination to work together to bring about lasting changes.

A retired Educationist, Mr Robert A. Ajene, told the chiefs that the widely held perception of parents in the North that education was the preserve of male children while their female counterparts were only meant for early marriage was primitive and out-moded. Source: GNA