CHINA-GHANA FRIENDSHIP SCHOOL GETS NEW CLASSROOM BLOCK (PAGE 11)

A SIX-CLASSROOM block for the China-Ghana Friendship Basic School Complex has been completed at Mpohor in the Mpohor Wassa East District in the Western Region to provide good and quality education in the community.
The school consists of storage cabinets, headteacher’s office and a store-room, a library, staff common room, as well as washrooms. All the rooms are furnished.
It has also a kindergarten block made up of two rooms, supervisor’s office, eating area, store-room, sick bay, toilets, a bath area and an exclusive play area. The school is fenced and has an entrance porch with a security post.
The Chinese government donated $1,000,000 to the government of Ghana for the construction of three model basic schools, one each in the Central, Western and Greater Accra regions of the country.
The school complex was constructed by Qing Dao Construction Group Corporation of China.
Speaking at the opening and handover at Mpohor at the weekend, a Deputy Minister of Education, Dr J. S. Annan, said as part of interventions to improve education delivery, the ministry would continue to provide infrastructural facilities at the pre-school level through collaboration with the district assemblies and other non-state actors.
In addition, he said, the ministry would continue with the programme of upgrading basic school infrastructure throughout the country to further expand and improve existing infrastructure.
He said the upgrading programme involved the construction of facilities such as science laboratories, classrooms, dormitories, libraries and administration blocks.
He stated further that rehabilitation works would be undertaken on existing classrooms and pieces of furniture would be provided.
“The Government, through the Ministry of Education, will also ensure effective utilisation of the capitation grant by empowering regional directorates to monitor its implementation and assist weaker districts through capacity building,” he added.
Consequently, he said, this had resulted in a paradigm shift in our educational agenda skewed towards the development of institutional capacities and human resources in the different disciplines in the oil industry.
The Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Yu Wenzhe explained that the three rural schools donated by the Chinese government were initially proposed in the Beijing Summit of China Africa Cooperation Forum.
During the summit, he said China and Africa agreed to forge a new type of China-Africa strategic partnership and strengthen the cooperation in various areas and at a higher lever.
Mr Wenzhe said the Chinese government had adopted eight measures to strengthen cooperation with Africa, covering many areas, including political, trade, investment, education, health and agriculture.
“In Ghana, the construction of the Ministry of Defence office block, the Kumasi Youth Centre, the Ofankor-Nsawam road and the three rural schools are already finished,” he said.
“The Bui Dam, Sunon-Asogli Power Plant and the students dormitory of the Labour College of the African Trade Union Unity are also going on smoothly,” he added.
He said a general hospital with an anti-malarial centre at Teshie would be constructed very soon.
In the field of human resources cooperation, he said besides the Chinese government scholarships and short-term training programmes, China would also send agricultural experts, a medical team and youth volunteers to Ghana.
The Member of Parliament for Mpohor Wassa East, Mr A. E. Amoah said the initiative was good for the area since it would help to increase enrolment.
The Omanhene of the Mpohor Traditional Area, Osabarima Kwaw Entsie II, expressed his gratitude to the government and the Chinese government for putting up the edifice that would enable the children from Mpohor and its environs to access good and quality education.
“We are now in a global world and our lives are geared towards ICT,” he stated, adding that, this nice facility needed to be stocked with computers to enable the pupils that would have the opportunity to go through it to acquire computer skills from here.