2 Salvation Army schools scrap shift system
The Salvation Army ‘1’ and ‘2’ basic schools at Chantan, a suburb of Accra, will scrap their current shift system effective next week.
This has become possible following the donation of 200 dual desks to the school by the Salvation Army - Ghana Territory, a church and charitable organisation.
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The school had run a shift system for the past 12 years with pupils alternating between morning and afternoon classes because of inadequate classrooms and desks.
The Salvation Army is engaged in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and meeting human needs.
Improved education
The headmaster of the Salvation Army ‘2’ basic school, Mr Frank Yaw Kyeremeh, explained that the Education Directorate of the Ga Central Municipal Assembly had temporarily allocated to the school a six-unit classroom block sponsored by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) which was originally meant for the Abeka Motorway School.
He said the decision by the Municipal Education Directorate was intended to ease the congestion in the classrooms and to accommodate the over 1,000 pupils of the school.
He said the donation had, however, come in good time to complement the new classroom block, stressing that the scrapping of the shift system would increase the contact hours between teachers and students.
Mr Kyeremeh, however, added that the school still needed more classrooms and facilities to improve teaching and learning.
The headmistress of Salvation Army “1” Basic School, Ms Emelia Quashing-Woode, gave an assurance to the church that they would ensure that the desks were maintained properly.
Commitment
The Chief Secretary of Salvation Army, Lt Col. Friday Ayanam, who presented the dual desks, expressed the commitment of the church to provide the needed logistics to create a comfortable environment for teaching and learning.
He tasked the management of the schools to ensure that the furniture was maintained properly to increase their life span.
“The Army will continue to play its role in the education of children in Ghana by supporting the government to make sure that the future of young people will be secured,” he said.
Partnership
The Ga Central Municipal Director of Education, Ms Denise Dinah Oye Welbeck, thanked the church for the gesture, and added that they were committed to partnering with the church to ensure the quality of schools in the municipality.
“The gesture by the church is a relief to us.
The Assembly has given some chairs, and with the top-up from the church, teaching and learning in the school will be enhanced,” she said.
He said the Assembly had plans of building new classrooms for the school, with work already ongoing, and appealed to corporate organisations and individuals to come on board to support.