Ministry seeks funding to fence school lands
The Ministry of Education has initiated moves to secure funding to fence all public schools.
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Although it is a very expensive venture when compared with the provision of classrooms, dormitories and science laboratories, the move has become necessary to address the problem of encroachment on school lands.
A Deputy Minister of Education, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, disclosed this during question time in Parliament last Tuesday.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ahafo Ano South West, Mr Johnson Kwaku Adu, had sought to know from the deputy minister the plans the ministry had to fence the Mankraso Senior High School in his constituency.
The problem
According to Mr Ablakwa, encroachment on government lands in general and school lands in particular had become a constraint on the development of the government.
He said numerous school lands, especially those in the hinterlands and urban centres, were being lost to encroachers almost on a yearly basis, with the result that it had become extremely difficult for the government to carry out the expansion of educational facilities, especially public basic schools, in certain areas of the country.
"The situation at the senior high school (SHS) level is even more alarming. Senior high schools in Accra, Kumasi and Sekondi have all, regrettably, had their fair share of encroachment," he said.
Mr Ablakwa said it was in the light of that situation the ministry had started making provisions in its budget to secure funding to fence all public schools.
He said the ministry was in the process of updating its data on all affected schools for implementation in phases.
The Mankraso SHS, he said, would be considered along with other schools when implementation began.
Other matters
The deputy minister told the House that the Mankraso SDA College of Education was currently going through the process of getting accreditation by the National Accreditation Board (NAB).
So far, he said, among many other things, the physical facilities had been inspected by officials of the NAB, discussions on the authorisation process held and the proposed name of the institution approved.
Outstanding issues, he said, were the submission of institutional accreditation, questionnaire, a visit to the institution by members of the Institutions Visit Committee of the NAB and submission of evidence of affiliation to the University of Cape Coast.
"If the outstanding issues are dealt with, the application will be placed before the Accreditation Committee at its meeting in July or August for a final recommendation on the application to be made for the board's approval or otherwise in September 2014,” he said in an answer to another question posed by the MP for Afigya Sekyere East, Mr Henric David Yeboah.
The MP had sought to know when the institution would be granted accreditation.
