A 600,000-dollar Dutch-Hemsa E.P. Basic School with fully furnished 12 classrooms, a computer laboratory and apartments for teachers has been inaugurated at Logba-Tota in the Hohoe Municipality. Coinciding with the occasion was the inauguration of a 400,000-dollar community health centre equipped with medical items and an ambulance. The two projects were initiated and executed by a Dutch couple, Marian and Arnold Michel, with funding from collaborating organizations and individuals from the Netherlands and South Africa. Inaugurating the facilities, Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, Minister for Education, emphasized that the cooperation among state, private sector and community was crucial in promoting quality education and held the key for harnessing the needed human resources for accelerated growth and development. He said communities were being encouraged to fully participate in the provision of educational services to bring about the qualitative change in Ghana’s developmental processes. Mr. Tettey-Enyo said government was making education more accessible, qualitative and responsive to the current challenges of society and global trends. He, on behalf of government, especially people of Logba-Tota and Ghanaians at large, congratulated the Dutch couple and their benefactors for their resolve to establish the school in the catchment area. He entreated the School Management Committee to institute prudent measures that would keep the facilities in shape for posterity and urged the Parents-Teacher Association to actively take part in the administration and performance appraisal meetings towards deriving optimal benefits of the Dutch gesture. Mr. Joseph Amenowode, Volta Regional Minister, said government was committed to the human resource development, employment generation and private sector improvement and therefore fraternizes with the Logba-Tota and the Dutch collaboration as one of the surest ways to reduce poverty, ignorance and create wealth among the people. He called on major actors to assist his administration to succeed in salvaging children from schooling under trees in the region saying the way forward for a better Ghana was to provide equal opportunities to all school going pupils, irrespective of their geographical location. Mr. Amenowode called for a conscious culture of maintenance to guarantee longevity of the facilities and entreated parents to enroll their children and invest in their total education rather than material possessions. Right Reverend Francis Amenu, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church reminded government of its role towards providing motivation and other incentive packages to teachers to balance the equation between facilities and quality teaching. Mr Michel said his motivation to undertake the humanitarian projects in that area stemmed from his passion to Togbe Takyi VI, Unansa of Togba-Tota, the communal spiritedness of the people and the serene nature of the settlement. He said funding was secured for the projects from individuals, corporate entities from the Netherlands and South Africa respectively. Togbe Takyi thanked all stakeholders and requested that the tourism potentials of the area be harnessed, a recreational grounds constructed and the road network between Logba-Klikpo and Logba-Alakpeti be improved. Source: GNA