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We’ll build more SHSs across nation
Following the successful rollout of the Free Senior High School (SHS) educational policy three years ago, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says the government will build more senior high schools across the country.
“It is the ambition that we will be able to plant senior secondary schools all across the country so that access to senior high school will become real for every child in the country,” he said.
In a meeting with a delegation from the Kologo traditional area in the Upper East Region at the Jubliee House in Accra yesterday, President Akufo-Addo said the decision forms part of government’s efforts to improve access to education in Ghana.
The government has taken up the full cost of tuition of all students under the Free SHS policy and is providing free accommodation, feeding, uniforms, and textbooks. Additionally, expansion projects are ongoing in almost all SHSs across the country.
The Free SHS policy has increased high school enrolment significantly, with over a million students enjoying free education in Ghana.
President Akufo-Addo’s comment was in response to a request by the traditional leaders for an SHS in Kologo.
He promised to ensure that the community benefits from an SHS and pledged to grant their request for a district hospital under the government’s project to construct 88 district hospitals across the country.
On security, the President said he will, through the Ministry of Interior, grant the community’s request for a police station.
He said the Interior Minister has developed a plan to expand the number of police stations in Ghana to enhance the country’s peace and stability.
The Paramount Chief of Kologo, Naba Clifford Abagna Asobayire, speaking through his spokesperson, thanked the President for accepting their request for the meeting, the first by any sitting president.
He also praised the government for his commitment to develop Kologo, adding that the President deserved commendation for honouring his promise to construct the road from Navrongo to Kologo.
He said work on the road has commenced and is steadily progressing, and noted that when completed, the road project will go a long way to develop the area.
The Paramount Chief also thanked the President for supporting residents in the area during the 2018 flood.
“The speed with which you did it shows great leadership. It included constructing over 100 dwelling units for those displaced by the floods and we are very grateful for that,” he said.
By Yaw Kyei
The Member of Parliament for Ofoase Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has disbursed GHS134,000 to 22 students under the latest round of his Scholarship and Bursaries Programme.
According to a statement from his office, the 22 beneficiaries are enrolled in 16 tertiary institutions across the country.
They are studying various courses, including medicine, marketing, law, public health, midwifery, business administration, education, and secretaryship.
The MP’s office commended the beneficiaries, especially the five students currently studying medicine and physician assistantship, encouraging them to remain committed to their studies.
The statement indicated that the scholarship initiative, which began in 2017, aims to support brilliant but needy students from the Ofoase Ayirebi Constituency to further their education. So far, about 700 students have benefited from the program.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Four tricycle operators, popularly known as ‘Pragya’, have been prosecuted and fined GH¢600 each equivalent to 50 penalty units by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Sanitation Court for obstructing public roads at the Agbogbloshie Market.
The offenders, who were arrested by Public Health Officers of the AMA during a routine enforcement exercise, pleaded guilty to the offence and were subsequently convicted by the court.
The four operators were among the 21 offenders recently arrested at the Agbogbloshie Market for various sanitation and public order violations, including selling on open drains, obstructing walkways, and trading at unauthorised locations.
Speaking after the court proceedings, the Head of Public Health at the AMA, Madam Florence Kuukyi, said the court was lenient with the offenders since it was their first appearance, hence the fine, and warned that subsequent offenders would face stiffer penalties, including imprisonment.
