The Ho Municipal Director of Education, Dr Esther Yeboah-Adzimah has called for a structured financing model for school sports festivals in the Volta Region.
She was speaking at opening ceremony of the 50th Volta Region Central Zone Inter-School Sports Festival, which began in Ho last Wednesday.
The four-day competition has brought together 14 of the region’s top schools to battle for medals and regional supremacy in football, handball, volleyball, table tennis, basketball, netball and athletics.
Opening the golden jubilee edition, Ho Municipal Director of Education, Dr Esther Yeboah-Adzimah, dismissed suggestions that sports distract from academic work. She stressed that sporting activities reinforce values taught in the classroom, including focus, strategy, resilience, humility and responsibility.
Dr Yeboah-Adzimah also called for reforms in the festival’s funding structure. She urged stakeholders to shift from last-minute fundraising efforts to a more reliable and structured financing model anchored on strategic partnerships with alumni associations, corporate bodies, community stakeholders and development-oriented institutions.
“It is time to move from emergency fundraising to structured and consistent funding,” she said, emphasising the need to secure the long-term sustainability of the competition.
With regional pride, bragging rights and a place in history at stake in its landmark 50th edition, the Central Zone festival is expected to deliver high-energy performances and showcase emerging sporting talent from across the region.
