Tullow Ghana has handed over a 16-unit girl’s dormitory block to the Nsein Senior High School in the Nzema East Municipality of the Western Region.
The 400-bed capacity block named after the Omanhen of the Nsein Traditional Area, Awulai Agyefi Kwame II, is part of Tullow Ghana’s support to government’s Free Senior High School project.
In 2018, Tullow Ghana made a $10-million investment commitment to build senior high school infrastructure to support government’s policy of providing free quality senior high school education.
Under the Tullow Free SHS project, the company intends to build six classroom blocks and nine dormitory blocks in five years.
The project is in pursuit of Tullow Ghana’s shared prosperity philosophy of sharing benefits of its business with host country and communities in a way that allows them to generate and develop better livelihoods and improved quality of life.
“Shared Prosperity remains a central philosophy for Tullow and it underpins its approach to sustainable socio-economic investments in Ghana. In line with our Shared Prosperity, we aspire to share the benefits of our business with our host country and communities in a way that allows them to generate and develop better livelihoods and improve the quality of their lives,” Director of Corporate Affairs Tullow Ghana Cynthia Lumor stated.
Commissioning the Awulai Agyefi Kwame II Dormitory Block, Cynthia Lumor said the company is hopeful that the completion of projects under the $10 million-investment programme will enhance government’s target of increased enrolment of rural poor junior high school graduates accessing senior high school.
“…as well as other milestones of improving the Ghana pass rates in Science and Mathematics in the Western African School Senior School Certificate (WASSCE) and improved girl-child education.”
Cynthia Lumor assured that the company will continue to work with the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ministry of Education to help with the infrastructure needs of schools with urgent need to accommodate qualified SHS students as it has been doing since 2019.
“The development of education in Ghana has been central to Tullow Ghana’s efforts since its operations commenced in 2007 and will remain focus as we implement our 10 year Value Maximization Plan. Currently, Tullow’s education initiatives are implemented in-country, from Basic through Secondary to Tertiary levels with focus on developing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Mfantsipim Secondary School at Cape Coast in the Central Region, Prempeh College and Asuansi Technical School in the Ashanti Region, Accra Academy and Achimota Secondary School in the Greater Accra Region, are second cycle schools that have benefitted from Tullow’s ‘Science in School Initiative’. These beneficiary schools have had their science laboratories either built, or refurbished to enhance the teaching and learning of sciences.”
Minister of Energy Matthew Opoku Prempeh applauded Tullow Ghana for the initiative.
“Ghana is very keen and interested in local content and localization. And we believe that local content and localization will ensure that Ghanaians are equipped with the relevant skills to be able to fully participate in the industry… There will be support of government of Ghana as far as the accelerated oil and gas capacity building programme is concerned… You have adopted skills development and STEM education support for basic schools through secondary school. …if this STEM/TVET agenda is pursued, Tullow will discover incredible talents who will contribute to the value maximation plan, so we can progress together.”
Western Region Minister Kwabena Otchere Darko Mensah disclosed that the region has seen a tremendous increase in enrolment under the Free SHS policy.
“Before the Free SHS, Western Region had only 13,000 students enrolled at the senior secondary school level. Today as we speak, we have 27,000. For example, in Wassa East, 250 students could go to secondary school. Today, we talk of about 2600 students going to secondary school. If you come to St. Mary’s enrolment has doubled. And when we are able to provide a similar structure like dormitory block, we will move from 30 percent of our students in boarding to 70 percent of our students doing boarding,”
Headmaster of the School John Mochia thanked Tullow Ghana for the project and said it will help give access to more female students thereby enabling the girl child achieve her dream.
Omanhen of Nsein Awulai Agyefi Kwame II charged the students to give meaning to Tullow Ghana’s investment by taking their studies seriously.
Significant progress has been made for the rest of the projects under the Tullow Free SHS initiative.
Procurement process is well advanced for the construction of a 12-unit classroom block for the Bonzo Kaku SHS in Ewiebo in the Ellembelle district.
There is also a 16-unit dormitory block each for the Annor Adjaye SHS in the Jomoro Municipality and Kikam SHS in the Ellembelle District.
All three projects are expected to be completed in 2022.
By Eric Yaw Adjei|3news.com|Ghana
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