A total of 1,860 school children from public and private schools took part in the 67th Independence Day Parade in the Agona West Municipality of the Central Region. They were drawn from 30 basic, one Senior High School and a technical institution accompanied by 120 teachers. The parade, held at the Swedru Sports Stadium, was also attended by chiefs, market women, religious leaders and heads of departments. Mr Evans Onomah Coleman, the Agona West Municipal Chief Executive, who addressed the gathering, commended the pupils who excelled in the 2023 Basic Education Certificate of Examination (BECE) and urged them to remain steadfast in their academic pursuits to become great leaders in future. The Agona West Municipal Assembly would continue to invest heavily in the educational sector to ensure quality teaching and learning, he said. The MCE assured that government would make financial resources available to enhance vocational and technical education to train the bulk of the youth to establish their own busi nesses. Mr Coleman hinted that government was committed to the provision of adequate infrastructure, teaching and learning materials, payment of capitation grants and teacher and nurse's trainee allowances to accelerate economic advancement. On agriculture, the MCE said more support would be offered farmers to enable them to produce more food to feed the nation and for export to help earn foreign exchange to improve their economic well-being. He assured Ghanaians of government's commitment to ensuring that the 2024 Presidential and parliamentary elections were conducted in a free, transparent, fair, and credible manner to sustain the country's democracy. Mr Bismark Offei, the Agona West Municipal Director of Education, said true democracy was the corner stone of the society, a system that empowered every citizen to participate in governance. He praised the school children and teachers who took part in the celebration and assured them that directorate would do everything possible for quality teaching and learning, Source: Ghana News Agency