Accra, Sept. 28, GNA - Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday repeated government's commitment to eliminate all schools under trees throughout the country by 2012.

"Government has stepped up measures and all things being equal, the numerous schools currently operating under trees will be eliminated by 2012, to make all school children comfortable to learn," he stressed. He said the provision of numerous schools would facilitate the elimination of the current shift system, which encouraged truancy and delinquency among pupils.

Vice President Mahama gave the assurance, when he inaugurated a $2.5Million refurbished Southern cluster of schools and a new Technical School at Teshie in the Greater Accra Region. The schools, which were refurbished by Electricity Supply Board of Ireland have seven primary and junior high schools and would admit hundreds of school children in the capital. Vice President Mahama said government would continue to collaborate with development partners to improve on educational infrastructure and increase enrolment in schools as a move towards the achievement of Millennium Development Goals.

He appealed to school management committees to speed up their surveillance system in order to provide useful information for the provision of quality education.

"The school management committees in collaboration with parent- teacher associations have the greatest responsibility to provide all the necessary information that will impact positively on our schools." Mr Padraig McManus, Chief Executive Officer of Electricity Supply Board of Ireland, said apart from refurbishing the Teshie cluster of schools, his outfit would also support the renovation of Kaneshie and Osu cluster of schools as part of the board's corporate social responsibility to Ghanaians.

He said his outfit is also assisting in the development of similar projects in other countries, adding: "We do not expect the Government of Ghana to be thanking us for this project, it is our ambition to strengthen Ghana's educational system."

Nii Armah Ashitey, Regional Minister attributed the falling standards of basic education to inadequate infrastructure and logistics and called on the Ghana Education Service to liaise with development partners to provide more facilities.