Ho, June 23, GNA - Mr Fosuaba A. Mensah Banahene, Administrator of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND), on Tuesday assured the authorities of the Mawuko Girls Secondary School in Ho of the Fund's assistance to improve infrastructure and other facilities in the school. Mr Banahene gave the assurance when he presented a 58-seater Tata bus worth 475 million cedis to the school and announced that the Fund would finance the construction of a two-storey dormitory block at an estimated cost of 350 million cedis.

"What I see is not the best in terms of infrastructure and facilities and the Getfund will not abandon Mawuko Girls School," Mr Banahene assured.

He observed that the atmosphere, environment and the smart turnout of the students were nevertheless inspiring.

He expressed surprise that with its limited infrastructure and facilities, the school placed 37th nationwide and third in the Volta Region in last year's Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE) ratings, beating 441 other schools, including boys' schools. Mr Banahene was optimistic that with a little push in terms of adequate infrastructure the school was capable of being counted among the 10 best schools in the country in future SSSC Examinations.

He assured the students of the government's commitment to improve girls' education and that the Fund was receiving adequate finances to address other commitments in the education sector.

Mr Banahene urged the students to educate their parents and guardians to pay their Value Added Tax (VAT) promptly both as customers and as business entities to make more money available to the Fund to meet its obligations.

The Volta Regional Minister, Mr Kwasi Owusu-Yeboa, said as a relatively young institution that had demonstrated great promise and proved itself, Mawuko Girls Secondary School required immense assistance.

"I hope that the sins visited on other institutions would not be visited on Mawuko", Mr Owusu-Yeboa said.

Mr Owusu-Yeboa observed that as a girls' institution the payback of the quality training the students would have would benefit them not only as individuals but have a spill-over effect on their families and society in general.

He urged the students to be studious and disciplined in order to meet the expectations of their parents and society.

Miss Rosemond Keteku, Headmistress of the School thanked the Fund for its support and Miss Christine Churcher, Minister of State in-charge Primary, Secondary and Girl-Child Education for her instrumentality in helping to improve conditions in the school.

Miss Keteku said the school has "suffered a lot of inequity by not receiving its fair share of resources and educational facilities". She said teaching and learning were constrained by inadequate classrooms, non-availability of staff residential accommodation, lack of workshops and laboratories, administration block, school library and Assembly hall.

She gave an assurance that when these essential facilities were adequately met the school would surpass its peers and be counted among the elite schools in the country.

An elated Miss Keteku told the Ghana News Agency, (GNA) that until the donation of the new bus last week, the school had had to rely on a Peugeot Caravan car donated by Mr Berend Veddeler and his wife Angelika, both expatriate volunteer teachers at Mawuli and Mawuko schools respectively. 23 June 04