Accra, - Members of Parliament today expressed sympathy for the plight of female students who suffered losses in the Ho Polytechnic fire disaster last Saturday. "We are with the students and the school authorities in this tragedy," Mr Justice Daniel F. Annan, Speaker, said while inviting members to make reasonable contributions and their widow's mite t While pledging their individual financial contributions to help the affected students to resume their studies, the MP's suggested measures to forestall the recurrence of such disasters in other This followed a statement of appeal by Mr Kofi Attor, (NDC-Ho Central), for aid to the victims including as a result of a gas leakage. Mr Attor said no lives were lost but student property lost or damaged was estimated at 300 million cedis. "Damage to the building is extensive. The whole of the second floor and the entire roofing structure was completely destroyed." He listed items destroyed as clothing, materials for course work, books, expensive gadgets and materials for home science students at various stages of their courses. "Some students lost Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang (NPP-New Juaben North) who initiated the individual contributions, pledged half of his June salary to the students. He said while he sympathized with the victims, there is the need to underscore the importance of a long-term solution to the disaster which is plaguing almost all schools in recent times. Mr Owusu-Agyemang called on the ministry of Education to critically investigate the cause of the fire outbreaks in relation to the structure of the schools and bring out suggestions on new desig He called for the involvement of all stakeholders in the public and private sectors as well as individuals and non-governmental organizations in providing the needed facilities such as a central "A stitch in time saves nine. We cannot avoid accidents if our students are allowed to continue cooking i Mr Mustapha Idris, (NPP-Gukpegu/Sabongida), proposed the adoption of an insurance policy for the various institutions to help mitigate the cost of damages in such disasters. Ms Christine Churcher, (NPP-Cape Coast), recommended that Mr Vallis Akyianu, former chief fire officer, should be consulted over fire prevention policy. She described Mr Akyianu as an expert in fire prevention and urged the House to tap his expertise in the preparation of a comprehensive policy for educational institutions. Mr Kosi Kedem, NDC-Hohoe south, said he was encouraged by member's contributions and their eagerness to help the Ho Polytechnic, which is the only institution in the Volta Region, restored to normalcy. He said although polytechnics contribute a lot of manpower development, their functions are not clearly defined. "It looks like they have been neglected in terms of distribution of resources," Mr Kedem said, and called on the relevant authorities to help raise their status.
Accra, - Members of Parliament today expressed sympathy for the plight of female students who suffered losses in the Ho Polytechnic fire disaster last Saturday. "We are with the students and the school authorities in this tragedy," Mr Justice Daniel F. Annan, Speaker, said while inviting members to make reasonable contributions and their widow's mite t While pledging their individual financial contributions to help the affected students to resume their studies, the MP's suggested measures to forestall the recurrence of such disasters in other This followed a statement of appeal by Mr Kofi Attor, (NDC-Ho Central), for aid to the victims including as a result of a gas leakage. Mr Attor said no lives were lost but student property lost or damaged was estimated at 300 million cedis. "Damage to the building is extensive. The whole of the second floor and the entire roofing structure was completely destroyed." He listed items destroyed as clothing, materials for course work, books, expensive gadgets and materials for home science students at various stages of their courses. "Some students lost Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang (NPP-New Juaben North) who initiated the individual contributions, pledged half of his June salary to the students. He said while he sympathized with the victims, there is the need to underscore the importance of a long-term solution to the disaster which is plaguing almost all schools in recent times. Mr Owusu-Agyemang called on the ministry of Education to critically investigate the cause of the fire outbreaks in relation to the structure of the schools and bring out suggestions on new desig He called for the involvement of all stakeholders in the public and private sectors as well as individuals and non-governmental organizations in providing the needed facilities such as a central "A stitch in time saves nine. We cannot avoid accidents if our students are allowed to continue cooking i Mr Mustapha Idris, (NPP-Gukpegu/Sabongida), proposed the adoption of an insurance policy for the various institutions to help mitigate the cost of damages in such disasters. Ms Christine Churcher, (NPP-Cape Coast), recommended that Mr Vallis Akyianu, former chief fire officer, should be consulted over fire prevention policy. She described Mr Akyianu as an expert in fire prevention and urged the House to tap his expertise in the preparation of a comprehensive policy for educational institutions. Mr Kosi Kedem, NDC-Hohoe south, said he was encouraged by member's contributions and their eagerness to help the Ho Polytechnic, which is the only institution in the Volta Region, restored to normalcy. He said although polytechnics contribute a lot of manpower development, their functions are not clearly defined. "It looks like they have been neglected in terms of distribution of resources," Mr Kedem said, and called on the relevant authorities to help raise their status.
