We’ll cancel contracts of community day SHS projects yet to start – NAPO

The Education Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh has hinted of plans to cancel all contracts of community day Senior High School projects that have not commenced yet.

He told Parliament on Wednesday that such projects will be budgeted for later.

“As for the availability of funds, the Ministry is prioritizing the completion of these works on a need basis. Contracts that have not been commenced at all will be closed out and budgeted for later,” he added.

According to him, an assessment of the projects by the Education Ministry revealed that some of the community day senior high schools are under construction while others have been abandoned.

Answering questions on the Floor of Parliament, Dr. Prempeh said 21 more community day senior high schools have been completed since 2017.

“The assessment showed that some of the projects are ongoing and some had stopped and some are even yet to start. We also assessed the impact of these projects in some areas. Accessibility to the school sites may be challenging due to the distance from the nearest communities,” he told Members of Parliament.

Former President Mahama during the 2012 electioneering campaign, promised to build 200 new Community Day SHS in underserved communities across the country, to address the issue of access to education in the country.

The first school, located at Ekumfi Otuam in the Central Region, was inaugurated in 2015 by former President Mahama and named after the late President, John Atta-Mills, who hails from the area.

The Mahama administration, however, failed to complete all 200 Senior High Schools before the end of 2016.

The Mahama administration was able to complete about 46 of the school blocks before leaving office.

Source: citinewsroom.com