Japanese govt provides grant for Winneba SHS project
The Government of Japan has handed over a $ 235,000 boys’ dormitory to the Winneba Senior High School in the Central Region.
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The facility will help to decongest the existing dormitory by providing accommodation for over 160 students.
The only boys dormitory is supposed to accommodate 360 students but houses over 700 students.
The building was named after Brigadier General Nunoo-Mensah, a past student of the school and Head of Human Security at the Office of the President, for facilitating the project.
Funds for the facility were obtained under the Japanese Grant Assistance for Grass roots Human Security Projects (GGHSP), a scheme that supports projects proposed by local government authorities.
Japan’s assistance
At a handover ceremony at Winneba on Tuesday, the Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Naoto Nikai, said the project underlined the determination of the Government of Japan to support Ghana in attaining its development targets.
“Additionally, improving quality education and accessibility are top priorities of the Japanese government’s economic co-operation policy in Ghana,” he added.
According to Mr Nikai, the Japanese government is currently constructing about 35 basic schools in the Central Region, adding that the boys’ dormitory for Winneba SHS is one of the symbols of the Japan-Ghana co-operation in the education sector.
Genesis of project
Brigadier Nunoo-Mensah said the idea was conceived after he learnt that the student population which stood around 200 during his days had grown to the current population of 1,600.
According to him, his contribution to the project is not only restricted to securing the funding but more importantly ensuring its completion.
Brigadier Nunoo-Mensah observed that after the project was abandoned in August 2013, he intervened in what he described as ‘the military fashion’ to get the project done, since the construction firm was unwilling to complete the dormitory block.
He asked Winneba SHS and other schools with vast lands to venture into agriculture to raise money to undertake other projects.
Gratitude
The Headmistress of the school, Mrs Cecilia Kwakye Cofie, thanked the Government of Japan and the other stakeholders for helping execute the project.
She gave the assurance that the school would put in place efficient measures to maintain the building.