Odumaseman PTA builds ?40m school block

A ?40.7-MILLION classroom-block built by the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of the Odumaseman Senior Secondary School (ODASS), near Sunyani, has been inaugurated with a call on Ghanaians to send their children to school.

The Minister of Mines, Mr Kwadwo Adjei-Darko, who made the call, stressed that the only important legacy parents can bequeath to their children is to give them quality education to guarantee their future.

The project was financed with a special development levy of ?20,000 per parent a term while the VALCO Trust Fund and the Awua-Dumase Area Council assisted with roofing sheets worth ?5 million and ?1 million cash respectively. Mr Adjei-Darko, who is also the MP for Sunyani West, commended the PTA for their foresight and sense of duty, adding that through his efforts, a three-phase transformer has been approved to provide electricity for the school and the nearby communities.

He said the success of the government?s development programme depends largely on the efforts of parents, teachers, as well as students and therefore, urged them to maximise their output at all levels.

Mr Adjei -Darko advised students to discard the erroneous impression that drugs can help them to attain high academic laurels, stressing that taking narcotic drugs can make them mad.

He said he spent ? 8.5 million out of his share of the common fund in sponsoring 17 teacher trainees this year, adding that he would soon launch a scholarship scheme for students in the area who gain admission to the tertiary institutions.

The minister donated 50 bags of cement towards the building of a two-classroom block currently under construction by the PTA.Mr Yaw Adjei-Duffour, the Deputy Regional Minister, commended ODASS for securing 100 per cent pass in the 2000 and 2001 Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and urged the staff and students not to relent on their efforts.

He said unlike the olden days when the wealth of nations was measured by the availability of national resources like gold, diamond and timber, among other things, nations are now considered rich depending on how much scientific and technical knowledge they have