The novel Coronavirus pandemic has caused many disruptions which have sent shivers down the spine of many across the world. This has negatively affected economic activities and the education sector is no exception.
Schools were shut down since Ghana recorded its first case of the pandemic in March and the education of some students and pupils has suffered as a result.
The current unfortunate circumstance has compelled institutions and individuals to innovate as well as devise timely and relevant interventions to educate school children while they stay safe at home so that they do not waste away.
It is therefore in this regard among others that AngloGold Ashanti Ghana Limited has collaborated with the Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Charity Foundation and the Ghana Education Service to rollout a virtual learning programme which is Live Radio and Learning Distance Learning Programme in Obuasi as a response to the current unfortunate situation in Ghana due to COVID19.
AngloGold Ashanti has through this partnership supported the Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Charity Foundation with an amount of One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢ 150,000) to purchase and distribute 10,000 copies of reading and workbooks to junior high school students in Obuasi as well as the host communities.
The Senior Manager, Sustainability of AngloGold Ashanti, Emmanuel Baidoo said the initiative is with the primary objective of contributing to increasing the pass rate of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results in Obuasi from 80% to 90% by 2021.
According to him, all these interventions are curved out of a scheme known as the Social Management Plan that was launched somewhere last year which is the blueprint to bring a lot more impactful development to the people particularly in education.
He said the primary objective is to collaborate with their stakeholders to contribute to diversifying the economy of Obuasi and use AGA’s second coming as a catalyst to facilitate developmental efforts in Obuasi and its adjourning communities.
He emphasized that one of the major pillars in the plan is the focus on education which they have committed a lot of resources to it, hence the support of this laudable initiative in partnership with the GES and Otumfuo Charity Foundation.
Earlier, AngloGold Ashanti donated six hundred set of furniture to both Obuasi Senior High and Technical School and Christ the King Catholic Senior High School, CKC to help close the infrastructure gab of government’s free senior high school initiative.
In addition, AngloGold has also supported the training of circuit supervisors of education and given them eight motorbikes to help them to efficiently carry out their supervisory roles within their operational territories with the objective of improving the basic education programme.
The Executive Director of the Otumfuo Charity Foundation, Dr Thomas Agyarko-Poku reiterated Otumfuo Osei Tutu II’s priority for education since he ascended the throne as the Asantehene some twenty one years ago.
According to him, the Asantehene is deeply worried about the outbreak of this novel pandemic and its adverse effect on education.
Dr Agyarko-Poku disclosed that the Foundation had begun a three-year project of distributing five million reading materials to pupils at the basic level in the schools but it has become necessary for the Foundation to devise a plan to take the books to them at their various homes in the various communities while they are home because of COVID-19.
The Executive Director of the Foundation pleaded with the chiefs, assemblymen and opinion leaders to give the Foundation the needed support for a fair and equitable distribution of the materials.
“ We will not give the books to parents or guardians to be given to the children, we want to give the books directly to the pupils just to be sure that the right recipients of the materials have received them” he stressed.
He on behalf of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II expressed his profound appreciation to the management of AngloGold for supporting such a worthy cause particularly at this era of the pandemic and asked them not to relent in their effort to support such initiatives.
Madam Leticia Obeng, a representative of the Obuasi Municipal Education Directorate also expressed her appreciation on behalf of the Directorate for the numerous support AngloGold is giving to education with the Obuasi Municipality.
