Ho, July 2, GNA- Pencils of Promise (POP), an education-focused non-governmental organisation, has provided a six-unit classroom block for Battor-Vome Methodist Primary School in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region.
The organisation also supplied the school with 94 and 31 kindergarten chairs and tables respectively, teacher’s chairs and tables as well as other ancillary facilities, including a six-seater toilet, urinal and water storage.
Mr Freeman Gobah, the Country Director of Pencils of Promise, said POP, has since its inception, built over 600 classroom blocks in its operational countries, out of which 193 were built in Ghana for the past ten years in Volta, Oti and Eastern Regions.
He said the organisation apart from building classroom blocks was also involved in providing capacity building for teachers on various teaching methodologies, sensitising pupils on menstrual hygiene and supplying reading materials to schools to enhance effective teaching and learning.
Mr Gobah called for more attention for early childhood education as it was the bedrock and adequate teachers at the kindergarten levels to help lay a good foundation for the pupils.
The Country Director observed that the neglect that characterised early childhood education in the country was a contributing factor to the poor performance of pupils at Junior High level as they had no good foundation.
Mr Osborne Divine Fenu, the District Chief Executive (DCE), commended Pencils of Promise for the gesture, saying it would help facilitate effective teaching and learning.
He charged pupils within the area to focus on their studies, cultivate the habit of reading and ensure that they read at least a story book per week to improve their reading skills.
The DCE said the North Tongu Educational Scholarship Programme was opened to all brilliant but needy students, especially female students with the aim of promoting girl child education within the district.
Mr Fenu said his outfit was committed and determined to address challenges bedeviling education and other areas in the district for rapid advancement.
When projects are commissioned, the greater challenge is maintenance, he said, and urged the school authorities and members of the community to properly maintain the facility to prolong its life span.
Togbe Patamia Dzekle VII, the Paramount Chief of Battor Traditional Area, who chaired the event, admonished parents to prioritise their children’s education and provided them with proper care.
He entreated the pupils to extricate themselves from activities such as pre-marital sex, alcohol drinking as such acts could have a negative impact on their lives and jeopardize their future.
“Our children are now going to wake and funerals instead of focusing on their books at home,” he said, and asked the pupils to desist from that act.
Mr Tse Medegli, the Headteacher of the school, thanked Pencils of Promise for the gesture and noted that the school was also saddled with challenges, including the inadequate number of teachers, desks, books and appealed for support the address the situation.
GNA