Accra, Aug 26, GNA - The Mayor of Accra, Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, on Thursday said the school shift system in the Accra Metropolitan Area would become a thing of the past come September 14 when schools re-open. He said only a little over a 1000 pupils are left to be catered for but promised that that would be solved before the September 14 deadline, adding that structures in the sub metros have been identified and would be used to accommodate the pupils until the millennium school projects are completed to cater for the over 70,000 who have four hours of teaching instead of the normal eight hours of study daily. The mayor disclosed this at an Assembly meeting in Accra, attended by The Reverend Joseph Neal, a, representative of the US South Carolina House Representatives and Dr Norma Lozano-Jackson, Vice President of Benedict College, South Carolina.

The two, partners in the millennium City Initiative are in the country to evaluate the initiative implementation in the areas of education, Agriculture and alternative energy. To complement the AMA initiative, the Ministry of Education will provide 25,000 dual desks, cupboards and chairs for teachers for the smooth take off of the programme. The Metropolitan Education Directorate was compelled to adopt the shift system some years ago where a classroom was shared between two classes for the morning and afternoon. This, the Mayor said, was "unfair to our future leaders" hence the need to arrest the situation until the completion of modern classrooms which has started in earnest in some metros. According to the Mayor, researchers from the Earth Institute in the US on the Millennium City Project have completed an in-depth research finding on housing, transport and waste management in Ga Mashie, Nima and other parts of Accra.

Another team would be in the country in October this year to research into areas in the Metropolis to be followed by a review meeting in New York and an opportunity meeting in Accra in March next year, he said. On waste management, he noted that the AMA would donate 5000 refuse bins to waste management companies as a way of helping them give bins to all households and shops by August 31 to make waste collection easier and convenient. He said the AMA in collaboration with the Chief Justice had established sanitation courts which would be inaugurated soon to help enforce their byelaws, adding that the AMA was committed to ensuring that Accra became cleaner despite it challenges. Dr Lozano-Jackson told the meeting that her nine-day stay in the country had been an eye opener and noted that her schools would institute exchange programmes and help build capacity for teachers based on the information gathered.

The Rev. Neal announced that another 12 assembly members would be given the opportunity to visit in September to learn more about the South Carolina House of Representatives and how the State operates. This would bring to 22 assembly members who would have been offered the opportunity to be visit South Carolina. The State, he said, would offer technical support in the area of food security, agriculture and alternative energy. The AMA administration said their goal is that at the beginning of the school term in September, this year, the 71,000 pupils who are running the shift system should begin to enjoy full school work and do all it can to make Accra a city benefiting it status.