The Ministry of Education has indicated that it has already awarded contracts to make the E-blocks constructed under the Mahama administration boarding facilities to ease the accommodation challenges created by the implementation of the Free Senior High School program.
The Public Relations Officer of the Ministry, Vincent Ekow Assafuah says this has become necessary because the E-blocks, the buildings are lying idle because students do not select them during the SHS placement process.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Mr. Assafuah intimated that government will continue to expedite actions to ensure that the difficulties with the huge numbers at the country’s SHSs are addressed.
“Since 2017, the government has been able to complete 25 of the E-blocks. There are some we completed and added to the choice files at the CSSPS in 2018. But unfortunately, students were not able to select those schools. So the edifice was empty. It might be that because it was a Community Day School and there is no access to water or good road, young students will not be able to commute there. ”
“So as part of government agenda to ensure that we don’t leave those edifices empty, we have awarded contracts to companies who are now making make those schools, boarding houses to accommodate students in those schools. So there has been a holistic approach in making sure that we deal with the numbers going forward so that in the coming years we wouldn’t be having such problems”, he added.
Former President Mahama who spearheaded the start of work on the 200 Community Day Schools has all the time condemned the decision by the government to stop paying for ongoing projects and refuse to open up for use of many completed projects.
But the government has refuted the claims by Mr. Mahama.
Government has come under intense criticisms following the congestion in second cycle schools that led to the introduction of the double-track system.
Many have said, the situation could have been managed if the government had done enough to complete the E-blocks other than going ahead with the multi-track.
