By Bernice Bessey
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has commissioned the 8th of the 100 Millennium City Schools which project is to roll-out the aged-long shift-system among public schools in the country’s capital, Accra, on Tuesday.
The 18-unit classroom block, which has offices for teachers, washrooms, library, computer and science laboratories, was commissioned at the Odorkor Cluster of Schools, not only to end the shift system, but also to make teaching and learning attractive, said the Accra Mayor, Dr. Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije.
According to Dr. Vanderpuije, the two-storey edifice cost GH¢800,000.00, and was funded by the Assembly through the Social Investment Fund.
He said the Assembly was committed to completing the 100 classroom blocks promised to teachers and students in the Metropolis.
The Mayor stated that a Memorandum of Understanding had been signed between the AMA and the Columbia State to annually send assembly members to the United States to have an exposure of some best practices of city management.
He disclosed that this year three best teachers from the assembly would be given the opportunity to have the experience of travelling abroad.
The commission attracted the presence of the Mayor of Columbia in the United States, the Member of Parliament for the area, Assembly Member, Metro Education Director, teachers, pupils, and nearby residents.
The Regional Minister, Laryea Afotey Agbo, said the edifice was evidence that levies and rates collected by the Assembly are invested into useful ventures for the benefit of the present and future generations.
He said education and training was the key to national development, since it transforms an individual, society, and the country at large, through the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and experience.
Afotey Agbo said the government, recognising the benefits of education, had placed the provision of educational infrastructure as its topmost priority.
He warned that though education had long been acknowledged as the bedrock of national development: “its purpose is better served when its quality is assured, to enable a nation attain its developmental aspirations through the efforts of its citizens.”
“These classroom blocks, and the others already provided by the AMA, will be complementary in elevating the educational standards and quality in our schools, and for our children who are the future leaders of this nation,” he added.
The Regional Minister further advised the pupils to take advantage of the ICT Centre and Library to explore and seek knowledge.
The Accra Metro Education Director, Mrs. Rosetta Addison Sackey, could not hide her joy and thanked the Assembly on behalf of the teachers and students.
To her, the key ingredient of quality education is the availability of the requisite infrastructure for teaching and learning.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for area, Justice Joe Appiah, was grateful for the completion of the edifice, and even promised the school 20 desk top computers to enhance teaching and learning.
He also said for Ghana to become a prosperous nation, it needs to first tackle education, health, housing, and agriculture.