The Ministry of Education (MoE) yesterday presented 241 vehicles to selected Senior High schools (SHSs) in the Ashanti and Eastern regions and Technical, Vocational and Educational Training (TVET) institutes in other parts of the country.
The vehicles comprised 119 double-cabin Toyota Hilux pickups, 77 of the same vehicles for schools in the Ashanti and Eastern regions respectively and 45 double-cabin Isuzu pickups for TVET institutes in other parts of the country.
Presenting the vehicles to the heads of the various educational institutions in Accra, the Minister of State in-charge of Tertiary Education, Professor Kwesi Yankah, said the government had always been of the firm view that if the nation was to make any headway in its quest for industrial development and self-sustenance, then it must pay particular attention to the education of its citizens.
He explained that it was for that reason the government had made the commitment to ensure every Ghanaian child had the opportunity of quality education, no matter his/her family circumstances.
Prof. Yankah said it was a matter of great satisfaction to note that the implementation of the Free Senior High School policy had been successful under the Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh.
He noted that since the implementation of the programme over the last three years, the total population of senior high school stood at over 1.2 million children, a huge jump from the figure of 800,000 just before the policy was rolled out.
The minister explained that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was conscious of the fact that it was not enough to simply put more children in school but there must be a clear and purposeful drive towards ensuring quality learning outcomes.
Prof. Yankah urged those who were being given responsibility for the vehicles to take good care of them so that they could serve the purpose for which they were imported.
“It is your duty to ensure that they are put to good use and not misused,” he said.
The National President of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), Alhaji Yakub A.B. Abubakar, expressed his gratitude to the government for the support.
Alhaji Abubakar, who is also the headmaster of T.I AMASS in Kumasi, said the vehicles had come as a relief and they would help in ensuring the delivery of quality education.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
