Regional News of Friday, 21 July 2006

Source: GNA

Sepaase community to build a 12-classroom block

Sepaase (Ash), July 21, GNA - The Atwima-Nwabiagya District Assembly has donated 100 bags of cement and quantities of iron rods in support of a 12-classroom block, estimated at over 1.5 billion cedis, initiated by the Sepaase community.

Mr Stephen Agyenim-Boateng, Presiding Mmember of the assembly, who announced this, said Mr Beneto Owusu Bio, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area has also donated 100 bags of cement towards the project. Speaking at a presentation of a computer and its accessories worth over four million cedis donated by Mr Ben Owusu-Barimah, a businessman to the local basic school at Sepaase, Mr Agyenim-Boateng, who is also the assemblyman for the area, said the construction of the school block has become necessary as a result of the astronomical increase in the school's enrolment due to the introduction of the capitation grant. About three years ago, Mr Owusu-Barimah personally constructed a KVIP place of convenience for the community to address the poor environmental sanitation.

Mr Agyenim-Boateng said the community has moulded more than 8,000 cement blocks and purchased 40 trips of sand and gravel to speed up the project, which was being financed through fund-raising harvests and voluntary contributions.

Presenting the computer, Mr Owusu-Barimah said it was his modest contribution to expose the pupils to modern information technology to enhance their studies.

Mr Eddy Obeng-Darko, the Atwima-Nwabiagya District Director of Education, who received the items on behalf of the school, expressed the directorate's appreciation and gratitude to the donor for his immense contribution towards quality education delivery in the area. He said the beneficiary school had 100 per cent in the last year's Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and more than half of the 60 candidates presented had aggregate six.

Mr Obeng-Darko advised the parents to invest in their children's education and also told the school authorities to take proper care of the computer to benefit the pupils.

Nana Kofi Boakye, the school PTA chairman, said in addition to the school block, the community was putting up a new toilet and urinal facility for the school and also renovate the old primary school block. Nana Kwadwo Oppong III, Sepaasehene, who presided, said the community was mobilising every available resources to improve educational standard in the area, which hitherto was not encouraging and called on the residents and non-residents citizens to donate generously towards the programme.

He commended teachers in the area for their selfless dedication and commitment, which he said not only improved the school's discipline but also enhance teaching and learning.