Regional News of Saturday, 27 August 2005

Source: GNA

PTA builds 600-million classroom for school

Tamale, Aug. 27, GNA - The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) of the Ghana Secondary School (Ghanasco) in Tamale has built a 600 million nine-unit classroom block for the school to help solve the inadequate classroom situation facing the school.

The PTA has also over the years supported the school in its academic work by way of providing financial assistance to organize extra tuition, part-time tuition and sponsoring the school to participate in the National Science and Math Quize Competition.

Mr Abubakari S. Imoro, the Chairman of the PTA said this at the Annual General Meeting of the Association at Tamale on Saturday. He said in the course of the academic year, the association had also honoured a number of the staff who had either gone on retirement or on transfer.

He said one major challenge now facing the PTA was how to provide a fence for the school to ensure its security and also promote discipline. Mr Imoro announced that the association intends to create a revolving fund for the staff of the school to motivate them to give of their best in the education of their wards.

` Mr Justin B. Dakorah the Headmaster of the school complained that the school land was being encroached upon with the villagers still claiming it was their land, adding that parts of the classrooms were very close to the cemetery, while the village cemetery was also located on the school land.

He said the school's dinning hall was also overstretched making the 1,383 boarders eat by the shift system; resulting in loss of lessons time. Mr Dakorah said despite the problems facing the school, it had always ensured that it recruited qualified teachers to provide the students excellent teaching, saying that currently the teaching staff is made up of 65 Degree holders and 5 non-degree holders. He said students in the school now had all the necessary textbooks as compared to the past when they had to share books.