Education Minister presents tools to artisans

Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, has presented working tools to artisans in North Tongu in the Volta Region to enhance their work.

The items, valued at GHc80,000, include 120 circular saws for carpenters and 25 sets of auto-mechanic tools.

The MP also presented a pick-up vehicle to the North Tongu Directorate of Education for enhanced monitoring and supervision to reverse the falling standards of education in the community.

He said in his quest to improve education in the district, he had donated text books, motivated the teachers and deployed some of them to the rural areas.

Mr Ablakwa, a Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Tertiary Education, said he was motivated to present the tools after touring the community and realised that most of the youth’s pre-occupation were skills based.

“I believed in the philosophy that it is better to teach people how to fish than giving them the fish, therefore, the need to place priorities on the youth who had skills to be utilised productively,” he said.

He said prior to the presentation, he had taken stock of all the list of the artisans and has put in place programmes to address their needs and expand their businesses.

Mr Ablakwah said the presentation was the first phase of the programme, adding that the second phase would focus on hairdressers and photographers as well as providing tractor to the farmers to improve their work.

He said the Ministry of Education and the District Assembly launched a District Disaster Education Fund to help victims of disaster in the community.

Mr Ablakwa appealed to the youth to make good use of the tools by maintaining it since they constituted partners in the development of the constituency.

Mrs Fafa Agbae, District Chief Executive of North Tongu, commended the MP for the gesture adding that it would motivate the youth to put all their energies in developing the community with their talents and skills.

Mrs Pauline Mawutor Akpolu, Guidance and Counseling Co-ordinator of Ghana Education Service, promised to maintain the vehicle and use it for its intended purpose.

The Minister visited Mepe in the district to inspect a storey-building being constructed to house the Ghana Education Service, National Commission for Civic Education, Social Welfare and the National Disaster Management Organisation.

Source: GNA