Kumasi, Nov 27,– The government
has secured US$40 million under the Secondary Education Improvement Project to
expand and upgrade facilities in 75 selected senior high schools (SHS),
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has announced.
The funding for the project, he
indicated, was coming from the World Bank.
President Nana Akufo-Addo, who
was addressing the 68th speech and prize-giving day of the Prempeh College in
Kumasi, said an additional 42 SHS would be transformed into model status.
He added that construction works
on existing Community Day Schools would also continue.
Former President John Agyekum
Kufuor, the Education Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, a former Chief of
Staff, Mr. Kwadwo Mpiani, and former Finance Minister, Dr. Kwabena Duffour,
were among the tall list of high profile personalities present.
“Educating the boy child; the
role of stakeholders in contemporary times” was the theme chosen for event.
President Nana Akufo-Addo
discounted claims by sceptics that the fee-free SHS policy was not sustainable
and declared that it had indeed “come to stay”.
He acknowledged that there were
challenges but said the government was determined to go the extra mile to fix
them.
He gave the assurance that 69,500
mono desks would soon be supplied to schools that had been struggling with
inadequate furniture.
President Nana Akufo-Addo said
this would come together with 13,100 bunked beds, furniture for dining halls,
teachers’ common room, computer laboratories and the distribution of marker
boards.
He spoke of deliberate steps,
taken to whip up the interest of school children in the pursuit of science,
technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.
The target is to equip 38,715
basic schools with STEM equipment and train in excess of 38,000 basic school
teachers to aid effective teaching of these subjects.
President Nana Akufo-Addo said
the initiative was intended to strengthen the foundational skills and generate
interest in STEM.
He used the occasion to draw
attention to the need to ensure proper supervision in schools – check
absenteeism and other acts of indiscipline to enhance classroom performance.
Mr. Samuel Fordjour, the
Headmaster, applauded the government for the bold decision to implement the
free SHS policy and pledged that they would give it their all to achieve the
intended outcome.
They would work hard and with
passion to improve the quality of education – academic performance of students.
An ultra-modern Science
Laboratory donated to the school by Tullow Oil was inaugurated by former
President Kufour.
He said aggressive promotion of
STEM was the way forward for the nation’s economic growth.
GNA
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