The chiefs and people of the Ejura Traditional Council yesterday joined the Municipal Chief Executive of the Ejuraman Sekyere Dumasi Municipal Assembly, Alhaji Mohammed Bawa Braimah, to cut sod and handover a 25-acre land site to a contractor for the construction of a Community Day Senior High School (SHS) at Ejura as part of President John Mahama?s vision of constructing 200 ?of such educational facilities in less endowed districts spread across the country in fulfillment of his 2012 election promise to the nation.
President Mahama performed the initial sod cutting ceremony at Nyanoa in the Upper West Akim District of the Eastern Region March last year to signal the beginning of the construction of the first batch of 50 schools which are expected to be completed in August, this year with various districts and municipal areas such as Gomoa East, Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem (KEEA), Awutu Senya, Upper Denkyira West, Ahanta West, Nzema East, Tano South, Kintampo South and Dormaa Municipality benefitting from these projects.
At the ceremony at yesterday, a representative of the Ministry of Education, Mr. Samuel A. Boakye, together with Nana Sarfo Kantanka-Akwamuhene of the Ejura Traditional Council, sub-chiefs, representatives of the Ejuraman Traditional Council and opinion leaders, witnessed the handing over of the site just after the Ejura Agriculture College to the contractor, Mr. Abdalla Abubakar Andani, for his construction firm, Imorigiba Company Ltd, to commence work on the building and construction of the Ejuraman Community Day SHS at Ejura to improve access, quality and affordable secondary education in the Municipality.
Alhaji Mohammed Bawa Braimah, who represented both himself and the Ashanti Regional, ?Mr. Peter Anarfi Mensah, enumerated a number of policy initiatives and achievements in the education sector recorded since he assumed duty as MCE in December 2013.
These include presentation of a cheque? for GHC10,200.00 to the Headmaster of Sekyere Dumasi SHS, Mr . W. J. Arthur Manu to cover fees of 68 SHS Students in the school which the Municipal Assembly is sponsoring to complement government scholarship of sponsoring 22 students with governmentt bursary under the Secondary Education Improvement project (SEIP) with the Sekyere Dumasi SHS being a beneficiary school to receive capacity building of their staffs in Science and Mathematics as well as massive improvement of infrastructures such as science and computer labs, teaching and learning materials, additional classroom blocks, staff bungalows, furniture, etc.
He said this leap was achieved through the policy of bringing all stakeholders on board to ?support; alongside the District Directorate of Education, teachers, chiefs, opinion leaders and? Assembly members to organize more district mock exams; provision of furniture, classroom blocks, bicycles for pupils who travel far before attending schools, scholarships for girls (G-Pass), school uniforms, through the Ghana Partnership Education grant (GPEG) as well as effective supervision to enhance teaching and learning in the Municipality..
He announced that the contract is scheduled to be completed within 12 months and advised the contractor to do a quality job since everybody is watching.
Alhaji Bawa Braimah also reminded the contractor that the Free SHS programe announced by government is scheduled to take off next year and the Ejura SHS is expected to admit its students for the ?2015/ 16 academic year
Other districts listed to benefit the Community SHS project include Obuasi Municipality, Sekyere Afram Plains, Akatsi South, Bia East, North Tongu, Nkwanta North, Adenta Municipality and Ga East and Central, Talensi, Lambussi, Kpandai, Bole Saboba, Garu, Agona West, Upper Denkyira East and Awutu Senya East.
