Your E-blocks do not qualify as standard new SHSs - NPP Youth Organiser jabs NDC

The Eastern Regional Youth Organiser of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Jerry Osei-Poku has rubbished the claims by the National Democratic Congress that they built 45 new Senior High Schools, describing it as an “apology of propaganda, devoid of any iota of smartness.”

In an engagement with the media during the maiden “The Youth Must Know series” in Abomosu in the Atiwa West District, Mr. Osei-Poku asserted that “the boldness with which the NDC refers to the E-Blocks as New SHSs and engages in self-flattery is very laughable.”

According to him, a standard SHS must have facilities like Classroom blocks, dormitory blocks, Dinning hall, Assembly halls, library among others, adding that “acknowledging the E-Blocks (some 24 classrooms, a library and few offices) as New SHSs and asking to be patted on the back is simply a glorification of mediocrity.”

“A classic example of a standard new SHS is what President Akufo-Addo is building here in Abomosu in the Atiwa West district and other 6 different towns, namely Kwadaso, Dabaa, Akrodie, Koase in Wenchi, Diaso in Central Region and Weija in Ga South,” Mr. Osei-Poku has said.

He further added that “it is palpable falsehood that the Incompetent Mahama’s administration completed 45 E-Blocks . . . out of the 200 E-Blocks the deceitful NDC party promised to build as captured in their 2012 Manifesto, they could complete only 29 which translate to 14.5%. This is a total failure.”

Mr. Osei-Poku also made the point that, if building just a classroom block is all it takes to establish a new SHS, then-President Akufo-Addo could count not less than 500 “New SHSs” because, in less than 4 years, the government has put up over thousand (1,000) infrastructural projects, comprising classroom blocks, dormitory blocks, libraries, laboratories etc. in existing SHSs across the country.

Mr. Osei-Poku gave the below breakdown analysis of classroom blocks built by both President Akufo-Addo and John Dramani Mahama at the second cycle level to justify his assertion that the NPP government has performed better than the NDC in terms of expanding access to SHS.

President Akufo-Addo (in less than 4years) has constructed:

- 3unit blocks X 23 = 69 Classrooms

- 6unit blocks X 149 = 894 Classrooms

- 8unit blocks X 1 = 8 Classrooms

- 12unit blocks X 137 = 1,644 Classrooms

- 18unit blocks X 8 = 90 Classrooms

- 24unit blocks X 1 = 24 Classrooms

Total = 2,729 Classrooms

Mr. Mahama in 4 years (2013-2016) built:

- 24unit blocks X 29 E-Blocks = 696 Classrooms

Assuming that the average capacity of the classrooms is 40 pupils:

- NPP - 2,729 Classrooms X 40pupils =109,160 pupils

- NDC - 696 Classrooms X 40pupils = 27, 840 pupils

“In less than 4 years, President Akufo-Addo has built 2,729 Classrooms that can accommodate an extra 109,160 pupils whereas the incompetent Mahama, in 4 years, built 840 Classrooms that accommodated just about 33,600 pupils at the Second cycle level,” he added.