MCE FOR TANO SOUTH CUTS SOD AT BECHEM

A sod-cutting ceremony to allow construction work to take place has been held at the Bechem School for deaf.

                            MCE for Tano South and Nana Fosu Gyeabour Akoto II breaking the ground

A durbar which took place at the school’s conference hall before the MCE cuts the sod saw dignitaries like Hon. Collins Offinam Takyi, the MCE for Tano South, Mrs Mabel Botokro, the Tano South Municipal Education Director, Mr. Thompson Asare, the formal headmaster of the school and currently, the Brong Ahafo Human Resource Director of  Education, Mrs Alice Oppong Adubia, the Headmistress of the Bechem School for the deaf and Nana Fosu Gyeabour Akoto II, the Omanhene of Bechem Traditional Council.

In a short but impressive opening address, Mrs Alice Oppong Adubia, the Headmistress of the School said she was posted to the school in a year 2015 and hinted that after assuming office, she found that the school needed staff accommodation, fence wall, kitchen, classrooms, bathrooms and toilet facilities. She stressed that due to the prudent measures put in place by the management of the school made the school rehabilitates some of its existing structures.

On strategies to acquire fence wall for the school, Mrs. Adubia said management of the school and herself had several meetings with the MCE for Tano South to discuss the way forward the school can be fenced and thanked the MCE, MP for Tano South Constituency and Nana Fosu Gyabour Akoto II, for their leading role played to make the school acquires such a wonderful package. She said since the school has vast land, management is working assiduously to ensure the school is upgraded to the university status by government.

Mr. Thompson Asare, the Brong Ahafo Regional Human Resource Director of Education and formal headmaster of the Bechem School for the deaf congratulated the MCE for Tano South Municipal Assembly for taking a bold decision to fence the school.

On the importance of the fence wall to the school and pupils, he said it will prevent thieves from entering the school, encroachers and protect pupils from being attack by criminals. He said when the fence wall is constructed it will help the teachers and management of the school to properly monitor the pupils and others. He urged consultant and contractor of the project to do diligent work to make the fence wall lives longer to serve its intended purposes and also collaborate with the management of the school to ensure the project is completed on time scheduled. Mr. Asare used the occasion to catalogue some of the achievement of the school.

Mrs Mabel Botokro, the Tano South Municipal Education Director advised parents to pay regular visit to their wards in the school to find out their challenges. She said when the pupils’ challenges are identified; parents can put in place strategies to address them to make pupils stay at school to learn. She also used the occasion to plead with the civil society organizations and philanthropists to come to the aide of the school to augment the efforts government are putting in place to resource the school.

In another development, the MCE for Tano South, Hon. Collins Offinam Takyi welcomed all participants for honouring his invitation to attend the programme and carried greetings from the offices of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo –Addo, the President of the Republic of Ghana and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Hon. Evans Opoku Bobie and MP for Tano South Constituency Hon. Benjamin Yeboah Sekyere. He said the inability of the MP to attend the programme was that he had attended such equally important programme assigned to him by Parliament and congratulated the headmistress and management of the school for carrying out development projects in the school.

               

                           Hon. Collins Offinam Takyi, the MCE for Tano South addressing the gathering

He said government is committed to work to improve the educational sector and it is upon this reason that the Tano South Municipal Assembly has put in place measures to cut sod at the Bechem School for the deaf to fence the school to prevent thieves or criminals from entering the school to steal the properties belonging to the school and pupils. He also stressed that government has increased disabilities’ share of the District Assemblies Common Fund from two (2%) to three (3%) in order to make people living with the disabilities meet their basic necessities. He said not too long ago, Tano South Municipal Assembly released disabilities’ share of the common fund to the department of Social Welfare and Community Development to procure start –up kits to the beneficiaries of the scheme and said the Assembly will continue to release disabilities’ share of the common fund to beneficiaries as and when the common fund comes.

Hon. Takyi charged contractor to complete the fence wall project in six months to make it serves its intended purposes and urged parents that since disabilities are not inability, parents must provide the needed materials to their children at the school and thanked teachers and management of the school for taking care of the children and informed teacher to continue to impart their knowledge to pupils to enable pupils become the good future leaders. He said management of the Tano South Municipal Assembly has introduced scholarship award scheme to sponsor brilliant but needy students and informed parents to advice their wards to learn and benefit from the scheme.

In a closing remark, Nana Fosu Gyeabour Akoto II, the Omanhene of Bechem Traditional Council who chaired the programme said the Bechem School for deaf has played a significant role in Ghana’s economy and since government’s effort alone cannot tackle the challenges confronting the school, he calls on civil society organizations to come to the aide of the school.