By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Tilli (U/E), Nov 14, GNA – The Northfin Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, with support from Felixfonds of Belgium, has donated teaching and learning materials as well as sports equipment to the St. Andrews Catholic Primary and Kindergarten School in the Azupupunga community in the Bawku West District.
The gesture includes textbooks for all pupils to enhance teaching and learning, footballs and football jerseys to promote sporting activities, and teachers’ tables and chairs to improve contact hours.
The donation was aimed at improving teaching and learning in a school that has faced challenges with inadequate learning materials since its establishment.
At a brief ceremony to present the items, Mr Rex Asanga, the Executive Director of the Northfin Foundation, said the support followed monitoring visits that revealed the absence of textbooks was affecting effective classroom delivery.
He explained that after appealing to Felixfonds, funds were provided to procure textbooks for all classes, sports equipment, and furniture for teachers.
The school, originally known as the Azupupunga Community Primary School, was established by the Northfin Foundation with funding from Felixfonds in 2019.
Mr Asanga traced the history and transformation of the school, explaining that it was established in response to persistent concerns from parents in Azupupunga, who complained that the long distance to the Tilli Primary School was causing many children to drop out.
The first three-unit classroom block, which includes a headteacher’s office, admitted its first batch of pupils in the 2019/2020 academic year while the Foundation also recruited and supported four volunteer teachers, one of whom later left, to keep the school running.
As enrolment increased, the Northfin Foundation, with additional funding from Felixfonds, constructed a second classroom block to accommodate kindergarten pupils.
The classrooms were furnished with desks and teachers’ tables, and a borehole was provided to ensure constant water supply for both the school and the wider Azupuliga community.
The school was later absorbed by the Ghana Education Service (GES) and handed over to the Catholic Education Unit, leading to its renaming from Azupupunga Community Primary School to St. Andrews Catholic Primary School.
Mr Asanga commended Mr John Akugre, the then Assembly Member for the Tilli Electoral Area for playing a key role in the realisation of the school and the volunteer teachers who sustained the school prior to its absorption by GES, saying “Without the dedication of the community and the volunteer teachers, there would be no school here today.”
He noted that through the support of Felixfonds, the three remaining volunteer teachers pursued tertiary education and are now licensed teachers.
“They have just completed their national service and we will continue to give them stipends for another year. We appeal to the GES to prioritise these teachers who have sacrificed a lot when recruitment opportunities arise,” he added.
He also called for the full acquisition of the community land allocated for the school to prevent future encroachment, noting that the process had already begun.
Mr Asanga expressed appreciation to Felixfonds for its continuous support, which has enabled the Northfin Foundation to implement transformative community initiatives not only in Azupupunga but also in other parts of the Bawku West District, including the provision of a mechanised borehole for the community’s CHPS compound.
Mr Bukari Shaibu, Acting Head of Supervision, GES–Bawku West, commended the Northfin Foundation and Felixfonds for the support and reiterated the directorate’s commitment to prioritising the volunteer teachers during recruitment.
Mr John Akugre, the former Assemblyman for the area, commended the Northfin Foundation and Felixfonds for the support, adding that school had offered children the opportunity to pursue their education without worrying about distance.
Madam Blessing Ndemah Abare, Headteacher of the school, lauded the gesture and pledged to ensure that the materials were used to improve quality education.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/Christian Akorlie