Pupils and teachers of the three Millennium schools in the Okaikwei North Municipal Assembly (ONMA) will heave a sigh of relief as the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) Boye Laryea has promised to commission them by February next year.
The over 2,000 pupils and their teachers have had to endure congestions among other inconveniences for about three years as the ‘completed’ millennium schools sit on their compounds while they use the age-old dilapidated buildings and make-shift wooden structures as classrooms.
The affected communities are Tesano, Apenkwa and Fadama clusters – which have 13 schools in total.
Speaking to the Ghanaian Times in an interview last Monday, Mr Laryea said the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) had handed over the schools and other accompanying documents to the ONMA.
He said the ONMA had been meeting with the AMA concerning the schools and that there were few issues that needed to be tackled before the pupils would move into the new buildings.
According to Mr Laryea, when he assumed office, he inquired about the schools, but unfortunately, there were no documentation on the buildings as well as other resources that pertained to the millennium schools.
He indicated that there would be another meeting with the AMA to conclude the other factors that went into the building of the schools.
“I know the bad condition under which the children study and I am eager for them to move into a more comfortable place.”
“I will engage with the contractors to explain the situation to them and hope they would agree to continue from where they stopped, if they refuse we will have to seek advice on how to terminate the contract,” he added.
Mr Laryea was, however, hopeful that the schools would be opened before the commencement of the next academic term.
The Ghanaian Times in May this year published a story on the deplorable conditions under which pupils and teachers of the three basic schools teach and learn.
According to the story, more than 2,000 pupils from the three cluster of schools in the Okaikwei North Municipal Assembly (ONMA) here in Accra would have to endure congestion among other inconveniences a little longer as the three ‘completed’ Millennium Schools were yet to be put to use.
This was because the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) is yet to hand over the schools and other accompanying document to the ONMA, one of the assemblies carved out of the AMA in 2018.
BY JEMIMA ESINAM KUATSINU
