25 million Ghana cedis For Selected Senior High Schools (SHS) Next Year - Ofosu Ampofo

Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, has said the government would spend 25 million Ghana cedis to provide infrastructure in selected Senior High Schools (SHS) next year. The amount would be used to build 380 six-unit classroom blocks and 55 two-storey dormitory blocks and rehabilitate 100 science resource centres in those schools. Mr Ofosu-Ampofo was speaking at the 56th Speech and Prize Giving Day ceremony at the Abuakwa State College at Kyebi on Saturday. He said the government was committed to work towards free compulsory basic education for all children by expanding education infrastructure. Mr Ofosu-Ampofo said the government was pushing to correct the imbalance at all levels in the provision of education infrastructure as the gradual eliminating of schools under trees. He said the government had already increased the capitation grants to cover about five million pupils in all public schools and had provided more than 1.2 million school uniforms and almost 40 million exercise books to pupils in deprived communities. Mr Ofosu-Ampofo said the government had allocated more than 25 million Ghana cedis for the capitation grant and 56 million Ghana cedis for provision of school uniforms and exercise books next year. �Government will also spend more than six million Ghana cedis to support Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and more than 48 million Ghana Cedis to subsidize SHS examination�. He mentioned other major support by government as the training of teachers, provision of text books and exercise books and payments of inspectors to monitor schools. Dr Kwasi Akyem Apea-Kubi, the Eastern Regional Minister, said in a speech read on his behalf that he was impressed with the steady improvement in the school�s academic performance. He commended the Board of Governors, teaching and Non-teaching staff and the study body for the achievement registered and expressed the hope that they would not rest on their oars. Dr Apea-Kubi said the success could be a mirage and efforts of the school administration wasted if discipline did not prevail because positive academic and social results could not be attained in an institution where indiscipline and immorality were the order of the day. Mr Nicholas Yeboah Aninagyei, the headmaster of the school, said there had been marked improvement in the academic performance of the students. �This year�s performance was quite remarkable and very impressive. Out of 498 students presented for the WASSCE examination, 379 passed in eight subjects, 109 in seven subjects and 10 in six subjects,� he said. Prizes were given to students who excelled academically.