Ahmed Ibrahim, the Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources has called for stakeholder supports towards growth and development of quality education in the Banda District of the Bono Region.

He advised the stakeholders to collaborate and prioritise advancing the progressive growth of education in the area to empower young people with the requisite scientific and technological skills.

By doing so, the minister said the economic potential of the district could be transformed and enhance the livelihoods of the people.

Mr Ibrahim, also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Banda Constituency in the region made the call when he inspected construction works on some ongoing Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) educational projects at the Bandaman Senior High Technical School.

He said stakeholders could not afford to remain unconcerned about the development of education in the area, stressing that the time to invest in training the human resource development of the district was now.

Mr Ibrahim noted that the Banda district had deliberately prioritised secondary and technical education to provide students with the requisite practical skills like electrical installation, carpentry, building and other technical disciplines.

The minister inspected the level works on the construction of a dining hall and kitchen project, two two-storey dormitory blocks project, with courtyards for boys and girls as well as seven two-unit, two-bedroom semi-detached bungalows and a three-bedroom bungalow for the school.

Others include a three-storey, 18-unit classroom block, two-storey science laboratory block, two-storey administration and library block, as well as the installation of science laboratory equipment and other external works.

Mr Ibrahim noted that the district had prioritized Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, saying that construction of a modern science laboratory would enhance science education.

That would greatly position the school among the ‘Grade A’ Senior High Schools (SHSs) in the country, he stated adding that strengthening basic education was equally important in ensuring that pupils acquired the requisite foundation.

“What is required is to strengthen basic education to ensure that we produce teachable children for the SHS,” he added.

Mr Ibrahim expressed confidence that with the interventions being put in place the district would, within the next five to 10 years, produce one of the best SHSs in the country.

Tolee Pe Aboatia II, the Acting President of the Banda Traditional Council, expressed gratitude to the MP for his efforts towards improving quality education in the area.

He said that the people in the area had, in the past, faced significant challenges in accessing SHS education, saying that the situation had changed now.

Tolee Aboatia stressed the people’s dedication to support the government to facilitate the holistic development of the area.

He noted that the MP and the government alone could not shoulder the progressive development of the area and called on the people to contribute their quota too towards improving the growth and development of education.