Accra, Sept. 3, GNA - Sheikh Ibrahim Cudjoe Quaye, Greater Accra Regional Minister, on Friday inspected projects being undertaken at the Odorgonno Secondary School at Awoshie, in Accra.

The project funded with the HIPC relief fund was one of the 31 schools selected for rehabilitation and upgrading.

Odorgonno Secondary School and GHANATA Secondary School in Dodowa were the ones selected in Ga and Dangbe West districts of the Greater Accra Region.

Building Industry Consultants (BIC) are the consulting firm for all the projects countrywide while Osei-Kufuor, Sohne and Partners are the resident consultants for the Odorgonno Secondary School project.

Mr Kwame Adu Sarkodie, the Project Manager of BIC, said the projects, which cost 16 billion cedis, included three bungalows, two storey classroom blocks, an Administration block, Assembly Hall, a Computer Laboratory, Home Economics Unit, a dinning hall, two dormitories for boys and girls and three storey staff bungalows. The entire project countrywide costs 516 billion cedis for the 31 schools.

He said the contractors were on course and expressed the hope that the project would be completed by the end of the year. Mr Sarkodie said encroachers were occupying almost half of the School's land and appealed to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly to assist in driving them away to forestall future problems.

Sheikh Quaye congratulated the School authorities for their hard work and foresight, which led to the school's enviable performance in last year's Senior Secondary Schools Examination.

He said the rehabilitation and upgrading projects formed part of the government's determination to raise standard of education in the country.

"The government is standing by its promise to give equal education, which is the key of success for every nation to all Ghanaians." Sheikh Quaye said since the Odorgonno Secondary School moved to its permanent campus in 1990, this was the first intervention from a government to the school and urged the contractors to continue to work hard to complete on schedule to enable the school to have access to the facilities.

Mr Mary Amankwah, the Headmistress commended the government for the assistance and urged the GETfund to support the school to complete the remaining classroom blocks to enhance teaching and learning. She said currently the PTA was charging 30,000 cedis per student to enable the school construct a fence wall to avoid the persistent encroachment and urged all parents to play their parts to bring peace and sanity to their wards.