Pencils of Promise has commissioned and handed over a newly built two-unit classroom block with sanitation facilities at Ogome Anglican Basic School in the Yilo Krobo Municipality of Ghana’s Eastern Region.
The organisation also handed over a renovated six-unit classroom block as part of efforts to improve the school’s learning environment.
Speaking at the ceremony, Yilo Krobo Municipal Director of Education John Gasu outlined some of the challenges facing the municipality, including insufficient infrastructure and a shortage of teachers.
He said the provision of suitable accommodation and well-built facilities for teachers was especially important in rural communities. Inadequate housing and classroom blocks, he added, could have a direct effect on teaching and learning.
The Municipal Chief Executive for Yilo Krobo, Hon. Francis Akumatey, said the lack of accommodation remained a major factor affecting the availability and retention of teachers, particularly in rural areas.
He said decent housing close to schools would encourage teachers to remain in the communities where they were posted. It would also allow them to respond more quickly to the needs of children, he added.
Pencils of Promise Country Director Freeman Gobah said the organisation had supported communities in the Eastern and Volta Regions with school buildings for the past ten years.
He said the organisation would continue to assist schools with genuine infrastructure needs.
“We cannot allow the children to risk their lives simply because they do not have good classrooms to learn in. We will do our best to help children in rural communities to improve quality education. We have been doing this for the past ten years,” he said.
Mr Gobah said poverty should not prevent anyone from receiving an education, stressing that education must remain accessible to every Ghanaian citizen.
He also cautioned that improvements to school infrastructure alone would not be sufficient if teachers did not have access to good conditions of service.
He called for closer collaboration between the Yilo Krobo Municipality, traditional authorities, community leaders and other stakeholders to ensure vulnerable children received support when they needed it.
Mr Gobah further disclosed that one of Pencils of Promise’s main priorities was to support efforts to upgrade rural schools in communities across the Eastern and Volta Regions.
