By Kamal Ahmed/GNA
Senchi (E/R), Sept. 17, GNA – A new Junior High School (JHS) in Akwamu-Aboasa has ended a 120-year gap in access to JHS education following the commissioning of six educational infrastructure projects in the Asuogyaman District of the Eastern Region.
The projects, commissioned by Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Education, and Mr Thomas Ampem Nyarko, Member of Parliament for Asuogyaman and Deputy Minister for Finance, form part of efforts to improve access to quality basic education in the district.
Funded through the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), GETFund and the MP’s share of the Common Fund, the projects include classroom blocks, offices, ICT facilities, sanitation facilities and kindergarten infrastructure.
The facilities comprise a six-unit classroom block at South Senchi with a staff common room, headteacher’s office, seven-seater WC facility, ICT laboratory and other auxiliary facilities.
They also include a three-unit JHS block at Tortibu, a three-unit classroom block at Adome D/A School and a classroom block at Aboasa.
A three-unit classroom block with offices and stores has been constructed at Asempaneye, while Asikuma received a six-unit classroom block with offices and stores, together with a two-unit kindergarten block.
Mr Iddrisu described the Senchi facility as a model that would be adopted by government for basic education infrastructure across the country.
“As part of President Mahama’s reset agenda in education, this is my first opportunity as Minister to commission a completed education block,” he said.
“We will be adopting this Senchi Model Basic School as President Mahama’s basic education model for the whole of Ghana”, he added.
He said the proposed model would include a 12-unit classroom block covering kindergarten, primary and JHS, a dining hall, kitchen, STEM computer laboratory, a 14-seater toilet facility and a changing room for girls.
Mr Iddrisu indicated that government was seeking an additional 200 million dollars in World Bank financing in 2027 for basic education infrastructure while mobilising domestic resources to support the programme.
He said government remained committed to addressing inadequate school infrastructure and creating an environment conducive to effective teaching and learning.
The Minister commended Mr Thomas Ampem Nyarko for prioritising education development in the constituency.
Mrs Augustina Adwoa Owusu, Asuogyaman District Director of the Ghana Education Service, expressed appreciation to government and the MP for providing the facilities.
She stated that the projects had created a more conducive environment for teaching and learning.
“Today, we are seeing an edifice where students can stay and study. At first, the classroom was not in that good shape. On this note, the Education Directorate and the teachers are grateful,” she said.
Mrs Owusu appealed for additional furniture for schools in the district and assured stakeholders that the facilities would be properly maintained.
The lawmaker, Mr Nyarko said the projects formed part of efforts to address educational challenges facing communities in the constituency.
He explained that before the establishment of the JHS at Adome, pupils who completed primary school had to cross the Adome Bridge to attend JHS at Atimpoku or Juapong.
He added that pupils in Aboasa previously had to cross the highway to access JHS education at KwaNyarko.
He said he had established three JHS facilities in the constituency and constructed additional classroom blocks to improve access to education.
The MP noted that the projects demonstrated the value of fiscal decentralisation and the use of the District Assemblies Common Fund for local development.
Nana Kwasi Nyarko III, Chief of Akwamu-KwaNyarko, who represented Odeneho Kwarfo Akoto III, Paramount Chief of the Akwamu Traditional Area, commended the MP for supporting education and appealed for more improved school infrastructure, including the rehabilitation of the school’s AstroTurf.
Nana Obourpong IV, Akwamu-Aboasa and Akwamuman Okyeame Hene, noted that the construction of the JHS block marked a major milestone in the development of education in Akwamu-Aboasa, which had operated a primary school for about 120 years without a JHS facility.
GNA
Edited by D.I. Laary/Kenneth Odeng Adade
Reporter Kamal Ahmed
Reporter’s email: [email protected]
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