Assembly spends GH¢450,000 on education
The Obuasi Municipal Assembly (OMA) last year spent more than 40 per cent of its capital expenditure of over GH¢450,000 on education.
Mr John Alexander Kobina Ackon, Municipal Chief Executive, said at a best teacher award ceremony at Obuasi that, the assembly had chosen education as its priority area and would continue to support the sector.
He said apart from the provision of classroom blocks and furniture, the assembly had been sponsoring educational programmes including mock examination for Junior High School (JHS) final year students, Science and Technology Innovation (STI) camps, sports and scholarship schemes.
“Since I assumed duty a little over a year ago, the assembly had spent GH¢97, 200 on scholarship schemes for 484 beneficiary student,”
Mr Ackon announced that over GH¢100,000 had been committed to providing dual desks to basic school at Anyinam, Apitikooko, Kunka, Mamiriwa, Asonkore, Mampamhwe and Kwabenakwakrom.
The Municipal Chief Executive expressed concern about the encroachment on school lands at Christ the King Catholic Senior High School (SHS) and the Obuasi Senior High Technical, and said the assembly had taken steps to stop the threat by fencing the schools.
The Ashanti Regional Director of Education, Mr Joseph K. Onyinah, said stakeholders need to support quality education delivery since that would determine the economic fortunes and the general development of the nation.
“Education is the catalyst that determines the economic fortunes of the nation and quality of life of its people, and that there is no cost that could be too expensive to support quality education for the realization of these objectives,” he said.
Mr Onyinah said it was gratifying that despite the deprivation and other difficulties under which some teachers work, Obuasi could pride itself of outstanding academic performance of its schools.
The Municipal Director of Education, Johnny Owusu-Boadi, commended Obuasi teachers for their hard work, which had made the Municipality to become first in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) for five years running.
Forty-four teachers and non-teaching staff who were outstanding in 2008 and 2009 were honoured with double-decker and table-top fridges, television sets, gas cylinders and four-burner cookers.
Source: GNA