The Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has stated that the ministry has kick-started an exercise to distribute about 40,000 pieces of furniture to basic schools across the country.
According to him, this is in line with government’s effort to provide basic needs and amenities to public schools and to improve quality education in the country.
He indicated that this would include dual desks, library and teachers’ chairs and tables, notice boards, and bookshelves, among others. He added that the first batch of distribution, involving about 2,300 dual desks to the Kpandai Education Directorate in the Northern Region, took off on Saturday.
“As part of the nationwide distribution of furniture to basic schools in need, 2,300 dual desks were dispatched to over 80 basic schools in Kpandai Education Directorate in the Northern Region.
“Meanwhile, about 2,700 more desks are expected to be dispatched to other schools in the same educational directorate in two weeks. In total, a little over 40,000 pieces of furniture, which include dual desks, library chairs and tables, teachers’ chairs, tables, notice boards, and bookshelves, among others are expected to be dispatched to various basic schools in the country,” he said.
Dr. Adutuwm indicated that he is convinced that little by little, the ministry would reach the apex in its quest to improve education for future leaders and generations.
The Education Ministry’s database indicates that a total of 65,779 pieces of furniture were supplied to basic schools in the country in 2018 while about 54,000 was supplied by District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) in 2020, and another 69,459 in 2021.
Journalism gets result
The urgency in the procurement and disbursement of the first batch of furniture to the Kpandai directorate in the Northern Region is a result of a news report by the Multimedia Group (Joy News), titled: ‘Ghana’s Schools of Shame’, which provided audio-visual content of how students in some basic schools in that district sit, and sometimes, even sleep on the floor in class to learn due to the absence of tables and chairs.
The challenge of the inadequacy of desks and other learning materials in basic schools, especially in remote areas is real; but unfortunately, authorities sometimes deny accepting the true nature of this situation when talked about by stakeholders.
The comprehensive documentary gave a clear projection of the situation at hand, touching on the suffering of the children, the challenges of teachers in these schools, and the parents’ worry over the bleak future of their wards.
Education Minister Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum says he felt embarrassed by the Joy News ‘Schools of Shame’ documentary when he saw it.
The documentary highlights the country’s education infrastructure challenges in three districts of the country.
It revealed that the Karachi Nchumuru District, for example, has about 68 public basic schools, out of which about 45 percent are in terrible shape and some 7,000 children have no furniture. The situation is not different in the Kpandai District, where many of the children lie on the bare floor to take lessons and examinations.
While the swift response of the Education Ministry to addressing this challenge must be commended, it is important that going forward journalistic reports pointing to challenges faced by remote duellers are received in good faith and responded to with similar urgency, as opposed to the constant attack on the credibility of reporters.
