Pencils of Promise removes schools under tree in Adaklu

Hundreds of school pupils and their teachers in selected basic schools  in the Adaklu district of the Volta region can now carry out  their academic activities in a better and conducive classrooms, thanks to  the benevolence of a non –governmental organization, Pencils of Promise(PoP).

Due to inadequate infrastructure over the years, some of the school were compelled to hold classes under trees and thatch structures,  leaving the pupils and staff at the mercy of the weather. 

A total of seven communities benefited from various units of classroom blocks constructed by the NGO, Pencils of Promise with support from the  district assembly and the MPs common fund, at the cost of GHC  1.8million.

The projects executed within a record time of 4months, according to Mr. Freeman Gobah, country director of PoP, is aimed at boosting educational activities in the  area by increasing school  enrollment in the seven beneficiary communities.

He therefore charged  school  authorities to make good use of the infrastructure in improving academic performance of the pupils. 

A teacher in one of the beneficiary schools at Adaklu-Kpeleho, where the projects were commissioned, Ernestina  Akpe expressed gratitude about the project, saying it will help reduce the high  attrition rate among staff due to poor infrastructure.

“We use to be under sheds and whenever the cloud gathers, we have to earlier. Sometimes too, we get beaten by the rain. .Most  teachers have left [the school]  because of this problem. So we’re grateful this problem have been resolved,” she stated.

One of the thatch structures use fr classroom

South Tongu GES falls on capitation grant to pay utility bills

Heads of some public basic schools in the South Tongu district of the Volta region are up in arms against the district education directorate for cutting down on their allocation of the capitation grant, being disbursed for running of the schools.

Information gathered by Voltaonline, revealed that, the education office levied each basic school pupil, 50pesewas and subsequently deducted it from their share of the capitation grant of GHc4.50 per child.

The amount which is lodged in a special account known as ‘District Support Levy’ is meant to help the office defray its debts to utility providers including the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

But some of the head teachers who are unhappy about the deduction noted that, it will adversely affect the smooth running of the schools, as they depend on the grant to supply teaching aids and other items needed to teach the pupils effectively.

Pencils of Promise to boost Education delivery in Volta region

Mr. Goba, director of PoP signing the MoU with Mr. Ganyaglo and Alhaji Haroon

In an era where the standard of Basic and Senior High school education in the Volta region continue to take a nose dive coupled with poor and inadequate classroom infrastructure, an educational charity organisation, Pencils of Promise (PoP) have officially entered into a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with the Volta Regional Directorate of Education to help stem the situation.

The MoU, pave the way for PoP to complement government’s effort in providing classroom blocks and other teaching and learning materials for schools in deprived communities for the next five years. The charity organisation which started operations in 2012 has already built classrooms for 53 schools in 15 districts of the Volta region within the last two years.

Mr. Freeman Goba, Country Director of the organisation said Pencils of Promise is committed to providing 500 school blocks in Ghana by the end of 2015. This, he said is in fulfilment of the Organisation’s mission of bringing smiles on the faces of the less privileged, through the provision of shelter and logistics to deprived community schools.

MTN ‘Y’ello Care’ Put Smiles on Faces of Underprivileged Pupils

Some 140 brilliant but needy pupils of the Ave-Dakpa D/A Basic School in the Akatsi-North district of the Volta region have been presented with school bags from the nation’s leading telecommunication network, MTN-Ghana, as part of its annual ‘21 days of Y’ello care’ programme.

The programme which is an employee volunteer initiative and held in June every year provided MTN Staff at the Ho office the opportunity to mentor the pupils and interact with their teachers on Thursday.

David Woasey, Volta regional leader of team MTN, said investing in education was a top priority for the leading telecom operator, hence this year's theme 'Investing in Education for All.

He commended the teachers for their relentless effort in shaping the future of the children and advised the pupils be disciplined and be serious with their books, stressing that “your book is your future.. So take your studies seriously”.

The bags which were made from recycled flexi MTN souvenirs by MTN-Ghana employees, have apartments for books, mathematical sets and other learning materials pupils may need at school.

The Headteacher of the Ave-Dakpa D/A Basic School, Mr. Korto Abeilekpor, described the gesture as a ‘great feeling’ and a morale boaster for the children, because “some pupils do not even have rubber bags for their books.”

An elated primary six pupil and a beneficiary, Kporvi Janet said the bag will help her properly safeguard her books especially in this raining season. “Now the rain will no longer wet my books and they can last long”.