At least 2,000 children currently studying in classrooms without furniture in the Upper East Region will have seats in their classrooms by the end of this year.

The Upper East Regional Minister, Tangoba Abayage has taken a personal initiative to donate at least 1000 dual desks in a bid to reduce the number of children sitting on the bare floor of their classrooms for lessons.

The Parliamentary Candidate for the Navrongo Central Constituency has already donated 400 of the dual desks to the Kasena – Nankana Municipal Education Directorate to be distributed to schools in Navrongo.

Explaining the motive behind her initiative, the Minister said she ordered 400 classroom dual desks, prior to the NPP Parliamentary Primaries.

She said she had been optimistic she was going to win the primary and so, she ordered the furniture to be made, so that after the primaries, she could distribute them to schools in Navrongo to show her gratitude to the people.

Tangoba Abayage said she had also planned to donate the furniture to coincide with her birthday which fell on June 30, but that could not be done because the furniture could not be produced within that short period.

 “My plan was to donate 400 dual desks because there are many children sitting on the bare floors to write in class. But once the schools heard that I was donating furniture, more of them started asking if they could also get some furniture”, Tangoba said.

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She explained further that it was due to the many requests from the schools that she decided to donate 600 more dual desks.

“Thanks to Free SHS, I do not have to pay any school fees in the constituency. So, I can use my salary.  For the next six months, if I don’t touch my salary, I should be able to provide 100 dual desks every month.

“Which means by close of December, we should have 600 dual desks in addition to the 400 we have presented today, to make it 1000 desks”, she said.

Receiving the 400 dual desks that were presented in Navrongo, a Deputy Director of Education for the Kasena – Nankana Municipality, Albert Adonawurah said the furniture were going to be distributed as directed by the Regional Minister, to schools where the problem of lack of furniture was very serious.

“I can assure you that this furniture you have donated to us will be put to good use and maintained very well, so that many generations of school can use them”, he said.

Tangoba Abayage also used the opportunity to assure the Regional Education Directorate of government’s commitment to continue to improve on the education sector.

She said government has already to distributed some new buses to second cycle institutions in the country and the Upper East Region has received 17 of those buses.

She also announced that more of the buses and pick-up vehicles will soon be distributed by the government, and the region again will benefit from that.