President John Mahama has cut the sod for the construction of the Bole College of Education in the Savannah Region.

He described the project as the fulfilment of a long-held dream dating back to his time as Member of Parliament for Bole-Bamboi.

Speaking at the ceremony, he said the establishment of the tertiary institution would transform educational opportunities for young people in the region and help bridge the development gap between northern Ghana and the rest of the country.

“This is a dream come true, because this project has been on the drawing board from when I was a Member of Parliament for Bole-Bamboi. Today is a very proud moment for all of us, that finally this project is coming to pass,” he said.

According to the President, the absence of a tertiary institution in Bole for many years forced students who completed secondary school to travel to other parts of the country to continue their education.

“At the time, Bole had no tertiary educational institution, so when our children finished Bole Secondary School, they had to go to all other parts of the country in order to be able to get tertiary training,” he stated.

He said the area has already benefited from the establishment of a nursing training college, which has produced several graduates currently serving in Ghana’s health sector.

“Several nurses have graduated from that school, who today are working in the public health system,” he added.

He explained that although efforts had previously been made to launch the College of Education project, progress stalled due to funding challenges.

“We made an effort to begin it. That is why you see this whole foundation here. But now we have funding for it from the GETFund,” he said.

The President said the new college would have the capacity to accommodate 1,500 students and would feature modern academic and residential infrastructure.

The proposed facilities include student hostels, a principal’s residence, a vice-principal’s residence, a lecture hall complex, an 18-unit classroom block, an auditorium, a two-storey library and ICT block, a dining hall and kitchen, two-bedroom staff flats, five four-unit, two-bedroom staff quarters, and two-storey administration blocks.

He expressed optimism that the institution would soon become a reality.

“You can see the beautiful campus pictures here, so after many months from now, we will come here and commission it. You’ll see all these buildings here,” he said.

The President also announced a series of educational and infrastructure projects earmarked for the Savannah Region. These include the construction of a new STEM secondary school in Tinga, a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centre in Kulmasa, and a proposed University of Science and Technology for the Savannah Region.

“We are also building a new university for the Savannah Region, which will be a university of science and technology. We will go and inspect the site tomorrow,” he disclosed.

President Mahama said the projects form part of efforts to improve livelihoods and reduce poverty in northern Ghana through education and infrastructure development.

“We know that poverty is endemic in our area, and education is one of the means of social mobility, getting our people to be able to take their destiny into their own hands,” he stressed.

On healthcare, the President announced plans to upgrade the Tinga Health Centre into a polyclinic and transform the Bole Hospital into a 160-bed district hospital.

“For that reason, we are going to upgrade the Tinga Health Centre into a Polyclinic so that healthcare services can match the needs of this growing population,” he said.

“At the same time, we are upgrading the Bole Hospital into a 160-bed capacity District Hospital. This will strengthen referral services in this area.”

The President further talked about ongoing road projects in the area, including the Wenchi-Bamboi-Bole-Sawla road and the Bole-Chache road linking Ghana to Côte d’Ivoire.

“Finally, it is getting a big push to be done under the Big Push project so that we can complete it on time,” he said of the Wenchi-Bamboi-Bole-Sawla highway.

He added that a modern 24-hour market would also be constructed in Bole to boost economic activity.

“This afternoon, we are going to cut sod for a 24-hour market, a modern market in Bole, which will operate 24 hours a day. It will have a police station, a fire station, a kindergarten and daycare centres, warehouses and everything in it,” he announced.