Abolishing the shift system in public schools gathers momentum
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has called for stronger public/private partnership to improve educational infrastructure to increase access to education.
“A well-educated person is an asset for the transformation of society and the country at large through new inventions and discoveries,” Mr Alfred Vanderpuije, AMA Chief Executive Officer, said in Accra during an interaction with the officials of Meridian Pre-University Institution in Accra at the weekend.
He thanked the authorities of Meridian Pre-University and other corporate bodies in the Greater Accra Region for supporting government’s effort to improve the infrastructure of educational institutions in the Region.
The interaction was based on a response by the authorities of Meridian Pre-University to an appeal launched by the AMA to raise GH¢6 million from corporate bodies and individuals to build more classroom blocks for public schools in the metropolis.
Mr Vanderpuije said the AMA Education Fund was an initiative to meet the target of the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service to abolish the shift system which was being run in some basic schools.
The AMA Chief Executive Officer therefore commended Meridian Pre-University for its support of GH¢5,000, which is the first tranche of its pledge of GH¢10,000.
Mr Vanderpuije called on the private sector to partner government towards achieving its agenda of investing in people for socio-economic development.
Mr Tetteh Nettey, President of Meridian Pre-University, said the gesture was based on the conviction of the institute’s commitment to give meaning to parents’ investment in the education of their children for a guaranteed future.
“To the authorities of Meridian Pre-University, basic education means ensuring that all children have access to good quality education in a healthy, protective and conducive, physical and psychologically positive environment.
“This forms the basis for which we are today fulfilling our pledge to support AMA’s Education Fund towards improving the education in the Region.”
In an interview with Ghana News Agency, Mr Nettey explained that as a Pre-Tertiary institution, “we consider it our corporate responsibility to support government’s effort to abolish the shift system which has resulted in the creation of unequal access to education and created disparities for children caught in the unfortunate web.
“Pupils in the shift system are said to benefit from only four hours, instead of the standard seven hours or so of daily school work. They are also deprived of extra class hours and are hindered from engagement in co-curricular activities, this is unfortunate and unacceptable.”
According to AMA statistics, out of 170,000 pupils in the metropolis, only 89,000 have access to classrooms at a time.
Source: GNA