VRA Educational Board Inaugurated

Akuse, Feb. 21, GNA - The Management of Volta River Authority has inaugurated a 12-member board to oversee the administration of educational institutions in its operational areas.

In addition to power generation by the VRA, it also operates schools a= t Akosombo, Akuse and Aboadze to cater for the educational needs of children and wards of its employees.

Mr Kwaku Andoh Awortwi, Chief Executive Officer of VRA, was of the vie= w that as part of the National Power Sector Reforms Institutional Support Service at VRA, its schools needed to be restructured in line with the government's policy of energy.

He said the VRA schools, unlike other non-power institutions, were on the threshold of becoming commercial viable entities. Mr Awortwi said the expectation after the implementation of the policy was that the VRA schools would be capable of becoming a standalone and self-financing institutions.

He expressed confidence in the skills and abilities of members of the board which he hoped would translate into effective and efficient running o= f the VRA schools. "We believe your conceptual skills are the most required, this means that your cognitive ability to think strategically to take the hard, long term view to see the VRA and its schools excel will come to reality," he said. Mr Awortwi however charged the board with the terms of reference of their appointment which included providing quality policy direction for the management of the schools, advice on alternative sources of funding for the school and ensure that the schools provide quality education and maintain excellent, social and moral standards.

Mr Jophus Anamoah-Mensah, Chairman of the board, said the nation neede= d young intellectual men and women who could drive the economy and the development agenda of the country forward. That, he believed, could be achieved if the right people were groomed to steer the affairs of the organisation.

Mr Anamoah-Mensah said the new literacy scheme presently did not only include understanding Mathematics and English Language but also appreciate the media, computer and financial policies among others. He called on the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service to institute a programme to educate parents on the need to show interest, commitment and proper parental control towards the education of their children.

Mr Arnold Seshie, General Manager of the VRA schools, said the VRA established schools at the operational areas as part of its social responsibilities with the vision of setting the standard for public sector excellence and providing quality education from the pre-school to the Senio= r High School level.