Tullow Ghana Limited, operator of Jubilee and TEN oil fields, has constructed a 16-unit dormitory block for Nsutaman Catholic Senior High School in the Sekyere Central District in Ashanti Region of the Republic of Ghana.
The project formed part of Tullow’s US$10 million commitment towards the provision of educational infrastructure to support the Government of Ghana’s policy of providing free access to quality senior high school education.
The dormitory block is expected to accommodate about 416 boys out of the over 2,200 student population of the school.
Speaking at the commissioning of the dormitory block, the Deputy Managing Director of Tullow Ghana Limited, Cynthia Lumor said: ‘’This 16-unit dormitory block will add to the existing educational infrastructure in the region and benefit more than 500 students annually, who will ultimately add to the contributions this region is making towards the development of Ghana.”
She added: ‘’These students are the future of this country, and Tullow is happy to play a role in harnessing their creative, innovative skills and talent for maximum future impact.”
She was hopeful that the new dormitory block would enable the school to adequately accommodate the students with proper spacing to avoid the spread of any virus, especially the Covid-19.
Earlier this year, Tullow commissioned a similar 16-unit facility at the Nsein Senior High School in the Western Region.
It currently accommodates about 570 female students.
”This has reduced overcrowding in the dormitories. The school has further increased enrolment by 28 per cent as a result of the additional infrastructure,’’ Mrs Lumor said.
Mrs Lumor reiterated Tullow’s commitment to high-ambition leadership in the area of capacity building through education and skills development in STEM; strengthening local and national economies and developing shared infrastructure in Ghana now and in the future.
She said Tullow remains committed to working with stakeholders to complete ongoing projects in identified schools to promote education in Ghana.
The Deputy Minister for Education, Hon. Gifty Twum Ampofo, who commended Tullow, said the gesture would go a long way to benefit not only the chiefs and people of the community but all other students in the country who would be attending the school to pursue various courses for their future.
She noted that private sector actors like Tullow keep supporting the development of the country in all forms, thus leading to the holistic development of Ghana.
“This gesture by Tullow is to complement the infrastructure needs of people and help the government manage its budget.
“Until the introduction of the free SHS concept, only 800,000 students could go to SHS yearly due to the cut off points introduced by the GES and also due to the lack of accommodation space in the schools.
“The successful introduction of the free SHS initiative is substantively the tracking system that led to the current 1.2 million students in our second-cycle institutions. That is why we have seen the growth of 50 per cent in the intake to our second cycle institutions,” she observed.
According to her, the Government of Ghana is focusing on the development of STEM to ensure the training of critical minds for the industrial sector which holds the key to industrialization in the country.
She added that “the Government is also revamping TVET sectors to train skilled manpower for the future.
“I would like to encourage everyone to contribute to the development of education in the country as Tullow is doing since it is the most important asset for our children,” she advised.
On his part, the Ashanti Regional Minister, in a speech read for him by Hussein Abdul Rashid, Deputy Director, Regional Coordinating Council, also commended Tullow Ghana’s commitment to the progress of education and other sectors of the economy.
He suggested that a committee comprising of officials of the district assembly, the school and private sector be established to ensure that the facility is well-maintained to last long.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com