Pencils of Promise constructs six-unit classroom block for Klenormadi M.A basic school

Pencils of Promise (P.O.P), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) has constructed a six-unit classroom block for the Klenormadi Municipal Assembly Basic School in the Ketu North Municipality of the Volta Region.

The facility, fully furnished, and with staff offices, was constructed with counterpart funding from the Municipal Assembly, and with free labour from the community, to house the kindergarten and the lower primary classes.
The project was also supported by Mr William Agozie, Chief Executive Officer of Willago enterprise.

A six seater KVIP toilet was also constructed as part of the project with the NGO providing a 10,000 litre water holding tank to harvest rainwater.

Mr Freeman Gobah, Country Director of Pencils of Promise, at the handing over ceremony, commended the community and other stakeholders for their commitment, and urged them to double the project from a planned three to a six unit.

He said education had numerous benefits, therefore parents must consider it a priority, and make all efforts at ensuring that their children reaped the best of it with improvement in school infrastructure.

“School infrastructure is improving and you must take advantage of it. You have no excuse for not schooling”, he said.

Mr Gobah said education would complement the agrarian economies of rural areas, and would guarantee industrial vibrancy, therefore, parents must support the free education drive by not offloading all burdens on Government.

“Parents are not showing concern for their ward’s education and are falling too much on Government,” he lamented.

The Director asked the community to zealously guard the facilities against abuse by miscreants and announced that the School would benefit from the NGO’s 2020/2021 teacher support and WASH programmes.

Mr Paul Ahiable, Headmaster of the School said poor infrastructure and inadequate teaching staff remained major challenges, and appealed to the Ghana Education Service (GES) to help address them.

He said nonetheless, enrolment continued to soar, and academic performance was on a steady increase, making the school a strong competitor in the Municipality.

The Headmaster appealed to stakeholders to level the school compound, fence the facility, and also create access roads to the communities to end the menace of community members using the school as a thoroughfare.

He said the School, with pupil population of 483, had space for an ICT lab but had no computers, compelling tutors to employ abstract methods in teaching the highly practical subject.

Madam Mercy Ashiagbor, Ketu North Municipal Director of Education said the Directorate was doing its best to ensure that all schools had the required number of teaching staff.

She charged teachers to provide basic skill training towards empowering students who were vocationally inclined.

Mr Anthony Avorgbedor, Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) charged pupils to stay away from activities that hindered their progress in education, and said the Assembly would continue to support P.O.P serve the Municipality with the needed educational infrastructure.

He further promised that the Assembly would treat the issue of the access road with urgency.

Togbui Gbodzor VII, Dufia of Klenormadi appealed for pipe born water to complement the community’s supply from a dying stream and boreholes.

Mr Sampson Klutse Gamenya, Director of the International Center for Child Studies, who chaired the programme, appealed to the traditional authorities to provide space for the future expansion of the School, and also protect its lands from encroachment.

Mr Aaron Atatsi, a teacher at the School, was recognised for his exceptional commitment towards the project, which involved the renovation of an existing three-unit block, which had become a death trap.

Klenormadi M.A was established in 1959 by the community, and had survived years of infrastructural deficit with support from the various government administrations.

The School has a 10-member teaching staff, instead of the 18 required to meet its teaching needs, GNA was told.

Homevo Tetegah, a native who was a pioneer when the School was first established, donated learning materials, and pledged more supports.