Sepaase (Ash), Oct 27, GNA - Mr Thomas Ofori-Donkor, the Atwima-Nwabiagya District Chief Executive, has acknowledged the unique and valuable services offered by teachers and advised them to continue to sacrifice and render dedicated services to the society. He said the government appreciated the laudable sacrifices rendered by teachers and that no amount of financial and material rewards could adequately compensate them.
Mr Ofori-Donkor was inaugurating a 450-million-cedi school block for Sepaase Basic School in the Atwima-Nwabiagya District on Wednesday. Trust Fund (GETFund) funded the block that consists of six classrooms, an office and two stores.
Mr Ofori-Donkor said the district assembly would put up teachers' accommodation and three extra classrooms to meet the basic school's large enrolment as a result of the fee-free education programme. He said it was the policy of the assembly to provide adequate education infrastructure and other priority social amenities to improve the living standards of the people.
"The assembly's objective can only be realized if the residents meet their tax responsibilities and also initiated self-help programmes". Mr James Adusei-Sarkodie, the former member of Parliament for Atwima-Nwabiagya who initiated the school project, said he was sponsoring 31 students in second cycle institutions, seven in teacher training colleges and one in the university.
He said he was not happy about the apathy of residents towards self-help projects and social functions and advised them to initiate programmes that would improve their standards of living.
Mr Eddy Obeng-Darko, the District Director of Education, explained that the capitation grant was not meant for disbursement to individual parents but rather to cover sports, culture and Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) levies for basic school pupils. He said the government had provided adequate textbooks to be distributed to schools and that it is the responsibility of parents and guardians to complement the efforts of the government by providing their children with uniforms and stationery to enhance quality teaching and learning.
Nana Kwabena Oppong-Kyekyeku, the chief of Sepaase who presided, said the apathy of the residents towards community programmes was seriously undermining the development of the area. He promised to provide adequate sand and other support services to expedite the construction of three extra classrooms for the basic school by the assembly.
The DCE distributed more than 10,000 exercise books to the over 1,500 pupils in the Sepaase cluster of schools.
