The Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has refuted allegations of government negligence towards educational facilities in Senior High Schools, especially the E-Blocks.
He emphasized on ongoing efforts to enhance infrastructure, including the completion of E-Blocks initiated by the previous administration.
Due to the substantial surge in enrollment resulting from the implementation of the Free Senior High School policy, there has been a heightened demand for infrastructure in Senior and Technical Schools, with schools like the Ejisuman Senior High School in the Ashanti Region facing the issue firsthand.
“As you saw, during classes, they have to move the dining hall benches to the classroom, and when it’s changed over, they have to send it back to the dining hall when it’s dining time. And because of that early in the morning, classes start at 7:30, and the students will be struggling with the mono desks,” the school’s headmistress, Cassandra Osei Owusu Antobre explained.
Addressing the concerns during an interaction with the students of the school, Education Minister Dr. Osei Adutwum assured that measures would be taken to address the furniture shortage. He also refuted claims of government abandonment of educational facilities, highlighting active efforts to upgrade and complete Community Day Senior High Schools across the country.
“I don’t understand the issue of abandonment. There may be some E-blocks that we’ve not opened. If you put an E-block, as I’ve always said in the middle of the city, in Accra or Kumasi, it’s a great investment. But if you put them nowhere, in a jungle somewhere, if you don’t add dormitories, you can’t open them. So what we have done is to add dormitory blocks so that we can operationalize the E-blocks.”
During an interaction with students at Bosomtwi Girls Stem Senior High School, the Minister encouraged them to believe in themselves and embrace hard work.
Additionally, he urged parents to prioritize their children’s education, conveying this message during an address at the Pentecost Prayer Center.
