GH¢7 million model school project for five regions
A model school project, under which five model schools are to be constructed in parts of the country at a cost of GH¢ 7 million, has taken off, with the commencement of the first project at Agbogba, in Accra.
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Each of the model schools would be built at a cost of GH¢ 1.4 million by Africa Thriving International, a foundation interested in improving education in Africa, and the Ecobank Foundation in deprived communities in the Greater Accra, Volta, Central, Eastern and Northern regions.
Sod-cutting ceremony
The Chairman of the Africa Thriving International, Mr Alex Asiedu, who announced this at the sod-cutting ceremony at Agbogba, said the five schools were expected to be ready in 2017.
Statistics from UNESCO indicate that the global number of children and young adolescents who are not enrolled in school is rising as its data for the year 2013 shows that 124 million children and young adolescents, roughly between the ages of six and 15 years, have either never started school or have dropped out, compared to 122 million in 2011.
Some of the factors cited as causes for the situation include inadequate human resources, the lack of incentives and motivation for teachers, poor logistics and inadequate facilities.
Mr Asiedu said the objective of the model school project was, therefore, to fill the gap by effectively strengthening the public basic schools in neglected and deprived communities in both the urban and rural areas in the country.
He said the five model schools would provide full-time schooling for children with a syllabus prescribed by the appropriate government agency.
He mentioned that education was the bedrock of every nation, hence the need to attach importance to building infrastructure and the provision of tools needed to enhance learning, adding that “life is not worth living if wealth gained cannot be given back to support society.”
Commitment
“Coming from a humble beginning, it is our way of giving back to society. Our commitment to leading continental and global transformation at all levels of society can only be realised when the youngest citizens of our countries are given better footing through education,” he stated.
He said the schools would be stocked with computers, laptops and other technological tools to enhance learning.
Ms Julie Essiam, CEO of Ecobank Foundation, for her part, said enhancing educational infrastructure was one of the prime objectives of the foundation.
She called on other private institutions to collaborate with the foundation to expand the initiative to all regions in Ghana.
“Between Ecobank Foundation and African Thriving, our contribution will not be limited to needed infrastructure. We will work with schools, the communities and all stakeholders to enhance this process of transformation,” she said
For his part, the Executive Director of Ecobank Ghana, Mr Morgan Asiedu, said the two institutions decided to join forces to help reinforce the importance of quality education to sustainable economic development.