AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine (AGA) has presented an all-new ultra-modern school building to the people of Sanso, a community near Obuasi township in the Obuasi municipality of Ashanti Region.
The facility, which was completed at a total cost of over GH₵4.8million, has nine fully-furnished classrooms for both the Sanso Methodist Primary School and Sanso M/A Junior High School. Other facilities include a library, an ICT lab, a sick-bay, toilet facilities, canteen and headteacher’s office.
The edifice, according to AGA Senior Manager – Community Relations, Africa, Emmanuel Baidoo, is one of 10 basic school infrastructures it seeks to provide as part of AGA’s 10-year Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDP). The plan is to make the Sanso Basic School a model for effective teaching and learning, he added.
Mr. Baidoo, speaking at a durbar of chiefs, pupils and teachers among high-profile dignitaries to hand over the ultra-modern building to the community, touted some programmes AGA has embarked on to ensure education in the area is top-notch. Some of those projects include the Basic Education Improvement Programme and Menstrual Hygiene Project, among others.
He noted that due to these interventions, the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) pass-rate in Obuasi has improved from 84 percent to 93.4 percent since 2020.
“To date, the Basic Education Improvement Programme has benefitted 500 teachers; equipping them with leadership skills and innovative approaches to effective teaching. We have trained and provided motorbikes to all circuit inspectors and supervisors in Obuasi to strengthen school supervision.
“We have, in collaboration with the Otumfuo Foundation and the GES, published and distributed 140,000 copies of National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA)-approved textbooks to all public basic schools in Obuasi,” he said.
He added: “We also continue supporting the education directorates in Obuasi to organise yearly mock examinations for BECE candidates. Through our collaboration with GIZ DeveloPPP programme, we are implementing a menstrual hygiene project that includes distribution of menstrual pads to girls at all public basic schools in Obuasi”.
Deputy Minister of Education, John Ntim Fordjour, highlighting the importance of AGA’s gesture, noted that it was the efforts of government that led to revamping the AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine in 2018 after it had collapsed in 2014.
In view of this, Mr. Ntim Fordjour pledged government’s commitment to ensuring the mine is protected at all times. He then encouraged other multinational companies and corporate Ghana to invest heavily in education, as it is the bedrock of any society since it ensures socio-economic development for the societies in which they operate.
On his part, Ashanti Regional Director of Education, Dr. William Amankra-Appiah, in a brief remark expressed excitement over the gesture by AGA – and underscored the need for stakeholders to get involved in shaping the country’s education sector, just as AGA is doing for the people of Obuasi.
He further urged the School Management Committee (SMC), teachers, pupils and other staff of Sanso Basic School to imbibe a proper maintenance culture to ensure the facility lasts for future generations; and also to serve as a boost for AGA and other stakeholders to embark on more of such projects for more communities across the country.
