There have been several interventions by Government and Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to uplift the standard of education in Ghana, especially in the rural settings. But one initiative which has been phenomenal in the lives of many rural parents and their children of school going age is Pencils of Promise.

Pencils of Promise, an educational charity organisation, has put up classrooms for 53 schools in the Volta region within two years of their operating in Ghana.

According to the Country Director of the organisation, Freeman Goba, Pencils of promise is committed to building 500 schools in Ghana by the end of 2015. This is in fulfilment of the Organisation’s purpose of existence to bring smiles on the faces of the deprived, by the provision of shelter and logistics to deprived community schools.

Mr. Goba made these known during a ceremony of signing a 5 year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ghana Education Service in Ho. This seeks to foster a stronger collaboration between the Ghana Education service and Pencils of Promise in ensuring better educational outcomes from projects undertaken by Pencils of Promise.

The regional Director of the Ghana Education Service signed for the Service in the region and promised to ensure that his outfit will support projects of the Organisation in every means possible.

Deputy Volta Regional Minster Francis Komla Ganyaglo signed for the Volta Regional Co-ordinating Council while Freeman Goba penned for Pencils of Promise (PoP).

Currently operating in 15 out of 25 Districts of the Volta region, the organization intends to expand its services to the remaining ten districts and other regions in coming years.

80 students in Junior High and Senior High Schools are on full scholarship from  Pencils of Promise. “This”, the Country Director stated, “will be expanded to 200 beneficiaries by next year”.

Another Project PoP is introducing, is Self Organized Learning Environment (SOLE) will  introduce students to research and encourage them to participate more effectively in their studies in this age of technological advancement.  This is currently been piloted at Toklokpo D.A. Primary Scool and Agorhome RC Primary School all in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region.

The students are provided with electronic devices to enable them access the internet and do basic research on their own and make presentations on their findings, leaving the teachers in purely guidance positions.