Friday, February 5, 2016

Mahama Commissions 4th Community SHS, and Promises Better Days Ahead

From Edmund Mingle, Kwaobaah Nyanoa

President John Dramani Mahama yesterday, inaugurated the fourth community day Senior High School (SHS) at Kwaobaah Nyanoa, in the Eastern region, with a call on Ghanaians to support the government’s infrastructure development drive.

According to him, the increased investment in infrastructure was part of efforts at building a solid foundation for economic development for the benefit of the citizenry.

Reacting to concerns about the general economic hardship in the country, President Mahama asked Ghanaians to bear with the government, as it pumped more resources into infrastructural development, promising that the benefits would start accruing from next year.

“I can understand when people say things are tight, but we need to make sacrifices for the things that are important and crucial

“It is true that there is some economic hardship, but we are using the money that we are raising for building social and economic infrastructure and the things that will benefit this country.

“When you have social and economic infrastructure, then you can think of putting money in your pocket, because what is the use of the money in our pocket when we don’t have roads and hospitals to go to.

“So we have spent these last four years investment and putting our social and economic infrastructure in good shape, and when I win the second term, then we will start putting money in your pocket,” he said.

Regarding the school, he reiterated his commitment to deliver all the Community Day schools towards improving and expanding access to a progressively free education, adding that more of the schools would be commissioned soon.

The Kwaobaah Nyanoa Community Day SHS in the Upper West Akyem district of the Eastern region, forms part of the first batch of 50 out of the 200 Community Day SHSs promised by the government.
,
The school, which has first of 12 of the Community Day Schools earmarked for the Eastern region, becomes the first SHS for Kwaobaah Nyanoa and its surrounding communities. When the 11 other school projects are completed, the number of public secondary schools in the region would be increased from 95 to 108.

The Community Day SHS project is in fulfillment of a major manifesto promise by the government to improve and expand access to a progressively free education.

The commissioning generated intense excitement among the chiefs and people of the area, and President Mahama thanked the chiefs for their cooperation and support that ensured the successful completion of the project.

He urged the District Assembly to ensure that measures were taken to effectively maintenance of the facility, and also ensure that all children were enrolled in school.


Apart from the prime objectives of the school project, President Mahama was happy that the project had created jobs for many locals, saying it was indicative of the government’s commitment to support the growth of local industry.

He also cited his directive for the printing of school textbooks to be awarded to local publishers and printers as part of efforts to support the local printing industry to become more competitive.

Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Minister of Education, for her part, indicated that a number of interventions were underway to improve secondary education across the country.

As part of those measures, she announced that a shareholders’ meeting was being planned to discuss ways of reviewing the Computerised Schools Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) to effectively address the deficiencies creating challenges for prospective students and parents.

She advised pupils and students in the Kwaobaah Nyanoa area to take advantage of the school to build a foundation for their education, and urged parents to complement the government’s efforts by ensuring their children were retained in school.

Nana Baffour Kweku Ackom II, chief of Kwaobaah Nyanoa, expressed gratitude to the government for the provision of the school and the redevelopment of some roads in the area, saying the school project would help to build the future of the children in the area.

No comments: