Minister of Works, Housing and Water Resources and Member of Parliament for Banda, Ahmed Ibrahim, says the government’s investment in educational infrastructure is critical to developing the human capital needed to drive sustainable development in the district.

According to him, the expansion and modernisation of facilities at Bandaman Senior High Technical School will equip young people with the scientific, technical and vocational skills required to take advantage of emerging opportunities, including those associated with major projects in the area.

Speaking during an inspection of ongoing GETFund projects at the school, Mr Ibrahim said Banda must move beyond dependence on agriculture and deliberately invest in education and skills development.

“We are in the era of knowledge capital, where the human resources of the place, of the people, are the greatest asset that we have,” he said.

He explained that about 44,000 acres of land in the Banda District had been acquired for the construction of the Bui Hydro Dam project, affecting communities whose livelihoods are predominantly dependent on farming.

Mr Ibrahim said the development made it even more important for residents to acquire the technical and scientific skills necessary to benefit from opportunities created by the project.

He noted that although the Bui Power Authority employs about 644 workers, only a small number are from the district.

“Clearly, if care is not taken to train the people scientifically, in the near future the sustainability of the project will not be guaranteed,” he added.

Mr Ibrahim said this was the motivation behind prioritising secondary and technical education in the district, with a focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

He said the upgraded school would help produce electrical and mechanical engineers, doctors, accountants and other professionals capable of securing employment in major institutions and projects within the district and beyond.

“Now that government is building a modern STEM science laboratory for us, we have no excuse. We just have to strengthen the basic education to make sure that we produce teachable children for the secondary school,” he said.

The minister expressed confidence that the infrastructure investment could transform the school into one of the leading second-cycle institutions in the region.

Bandaman Senior High Technical School, established in 2010, currently has a student population of 687. However, inadequate infrastructure, including an abandoned E-Block, has constrained teaching and learning.

Headmaster Ebenezer Kofi Latah said the pressure on existing facilities has affected the school’s ability to provide a learner-centred environment.

“The dining hall is just a small space, and now, looking at our population, sometimes during break time, we need to break them into two or three batches, and that is affecting instructional time,” he said.

He added that the girls’ dormitory was also operating at full capacity.

Under GETFund’s New Targeted Emergency Projects, nine major projects are being undertaken at the school.

They include a 2,000-capacity dining hall and kitchen, two two-storey dormitory blocks for boys and girls, seven two-unit semi-detached teachers’ bungalows, a three-bedroom headmaster’s bungalow, a three-storey 18-unit classroom block, a two-storey science laboratory, a two-storey administration and library block, science laboratory equipment, boreholes and external works, including a gatehouse.

Zonal Consultant of AESL for the Bono, Ahafo and Bono East regions, Simon Mawuli Sabakpo, said the projects were at various stages of completion.

He said some of the teachers’ bungalows could be completed and handed over within a month, while contractors were working to complete the other facilities ahead of schedule.

The headmaster said completion of the projects would significantly improve teaching and learning while allowing the school to admit more students.

“With the science laboratory, I’m told that it’s going to be equipped and fully furnished. So the massive infrastructure development here is going to be a relief to our school,” Mr Latah said.

“We really pray that the project will be completed on time, so that the school can admit more, and then it will facilitate teaching and learning.”

The Acting President of the Banda Traditional Council, Nana Peh Aboatea II, also appealed to natives of Banda, both within and outside the district, to support efforts to improve educational infrastructure in the district.