"Schools Under Trees Project" ongoing

Nkawie (Ash), Oct 15, GNA - Five communities in the Atwima-Nwabiagya District have been chosen by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports to benefit from the construction of school blocks under the "Schools Under Trees Project".

The communities are Atwima-Mim, Sepaase, Wurapong, Asakraka and Amadum-Adankwame.


Mr Thomas Ofori-Donkor, Atwima-Nwabiagya District Chief Executive, said this at the second ordinary meeting of the assembly at Nkawie He said tendering processes had been completed and contractors had been taken to their sites for work to start.


He said a block of six classrooms, offices, staff room and stores with sanitary facility constructed under the Social Investment Fund (SIF) programme at a cost of 148 million cedis by the assembly had been inaugurated at Pasoro.


A three-unit teachers' quarters at Bokankye had also been completed. Mr Ofori-Donkor said four projects under the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) had also been awarded on contract. They include a six-unit classroom block each at Abuakwa and Nerebehi, two-storey girls' dormitory at Barekese Senior High School and two-storey dormitory for Toase Senior High School.


He commended the District Directorate of Education on the impressive performance put up at the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) for placing the third best in the Ashanti Region. He said the capitation grant, school feeding programme and 'My First Day at School' had improved enrolment in schools.

Mr Ofori-Donkor deplored the attitude of some communities that had made it their stock-in-trade to harass teachers posted to their communities and warned that in future offenders would be prosecuted. On sanitation, he said the assembly had spent a little over one billion cedis to evacuate refuse.


Mr Ofori-Donkor expressed reservations about the poor performance in revenue generation in the district and appealed to assembly members to ensure that revenue collectors perform well.


Mr Beneto Owusu-Bio, Member of Parliament for Atwima-Nwabiagya, called on assembly members to co-operate with the assembly for the rapid development of the district.


He cautioned some assembly members who had cultivated the habit of always going on air about certain developments in the assembly and described the practice as unhealthy and must be condemned by all.