Government to Roll Out Model Basic Schools Nationwide Next Year, Says Minister

The government plans to begin building model basic schools across the country next year, with funding arrangements of $200 million already in place, the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has said.

According to the minister, the project forms part of President John Dramani Mahama's Reset Agenda. It will copy the Asuogyaman Model School, a facility covering kindergarten through to junior high school, as first reported by Graphic Online.

Mr Iddrisu spoke while commissioning a 12-unit classroom block and other facilities for the South Senchi District Assembly's nine-year basic school in the Asuogyaman District of the Eastern Region.

The model design includes a 12-unit classroom block, kindergarten, primary and junior high sections, a dining hall and kitchen, a computer laboratory, 14 water closets and a changing room for girls.

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The minister said he and the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, had completed preliminary arrangements for the $200 million funding in advance.

"All the necessary financial arrangements have been completed and hopefully we are going to start next year to give basic education a facelift in all 261 districts across the country," Mr Iddrisu said.

He explained that the Asuogyaman design was chosen because, in his view, it was the first basic school in the country to come fully equipped with teaching and learning materials and other amenities. He also praised the Asuogyaman District Assembly for how it had used its share of the District Assembly Common Fund.

The minister pointed to the Auditor-General's report, which he said showed that three million children in 13 regions, across 10,900 basic schools, were being taught under trees. He said the planned Mahama Model School project would tackle this problem.

Mr Iddrisu further announced that 10,000 teachers would soon be recruited. He said 500 of them would teach Ghanaian local languages and another 500 would be posted to deprived communities.

He added that the curriculum from kindergarten to primary six had been revised to include artificial intelligence, ethical and moral values, and citizenship education.

The Asuogyaman District Chief Executive, Godwin Bobobee, said the newly inaugurated facility was a response to problems found in schools in the district. He said that after taking office last year and visiting schools, he found common challenges including damaged roofs, buildings infested with bats, vandalism of school property by community members, shortages of furniture, faulty wiring and a lack of washrooms.

The school's headmistress, Matilda Hlortsi, presented a citation to the DCE on behalf of the school community in recognition of his work on the project. She pledged that the school would maintain the new building.