Professor Christopher Ameyaw Akumfi, Minister of Education, on Thursday said the ministry plans to reconstruct 3,000 schools in the Northern Sector of the country this year. Prof Ameyaw Akumfi, who said this when he opened the ninth Consultative Panel meeting of the Ministry and its Development Partners noted that half of the nation's school's structures were in need of repairs.

"Clearly one cannot talk about access and quality when children attend classes under trees and in structures which are an apology of classrooms." Prof. Ameyaw Akumfi said the picture in the North was applicable to a number of localities nationwide that needed to be corrected and appealed to the participants to make efforts to change the landscape. The meeting, which is being attended by all stakeholders in the educational sector, was under the theme: "Reducing Poverty Through Quality Education- A shared Goal".

It is the second to be held within six months and offers the opportunity to reflect over developments that had occurred in the education sector. The 60 participants would be discussing issues including impact of Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy on education, implementation statement of the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE), Capacity Development in the Ministry of Education (MOE), Financial Management and the Ghana Education Trust Fund.

The Minister said the eradication of poverty was the collective responsibility of all and that was why this year's programme had been devoted to addressing the role that education could play in reducing poverty in the economy. Mr Lindsey Jones, Representative of the European Union (EU), said their assistance basically in the form of grants, went into micro-projects such as construction of schools and recreational centres at the community level.

He said the EU spends about one million dollars a week on education with the aim of strengthening the educational sector. Mr Jones said the union also organised workshops for teachers and provided of books for various schools in order to build a strong foundation. He urged the government to maintain the level of expenditure in the basic education and primary health care that the EU was supporting.