The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has cut the sod for the construction of new ICT and science laboratories at Pope John Senior High School.

The project is part of a government initiative to honour the late Defence Minister, Dr Omane Boamah.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Iddrisu said the ICT and science laboratory would be named after the late minister in recognition of his promise to the school.

“We will build an ICT science laboratory here and name it posthumously after Dr Omane Boamah,” he said.

The Education Minister explained that the decision was linked to a pledge Dr Boamah made during the school’s last speech and prize-giving day. He described the late minister as a sincere and thoughtful man.

“If you recall your last speech and prize-giving ceremony, he was a very sincere person. When you invited him to the podium, before he spoke, you saw him calling me. He said, ‘Haruna, what can I tell the people? What can I promise them?’”

Mr Iddrisu said the government was determined to fulfil that promise in his memory.

“So whatever he said that day, to his honour and memory, we will honour it for him. I give you my word that we will honour that which Omane Boamah pledged.”

He added that funding for the project would be made available under the 2026 allocation of the Ghana Education Trust Fund.

“I’m going to revise part of the GETFund allocations and make some money available for this to start in the 2026 formula of the GETFund,” he said.

The minister stressed that the new facility would be a fully equipped ICT laboratory, not a centre where students learn without computers.

“We want a dedicated ICT, well-resourced. Not what I saw where the students are learning ICT with a notebook, without access to a computer.”

Mr Iddrisu also recalled working closely with Dr Boamah when he served as Minister for Communications, a role he took over from him.

“We worked together very closely until those sad, tragic moments,” he said, before praying for the late minister’s soul to rest in peace.

The Education Minister reminded members of the school community of a promise he made during the late minister’s Requiem Mass. He said his presence at the ceremony was to fulfil that commitment and to ensure that Dr Omane Boamah’s pledge to the school would be honoured.

"Those of you who attended the Requiem Mass at Christ the King Church, I gave you my word, so that's why I'm here. I give you my word that we will honour that which Omane Boamah pledged."

"And I'll come back here to dedicate a science laboratory and ICT centre to the memory of Dr Omane Boamah. So let the management of this school be informed," he added.

He assured the school community that Pope John Senior High School would benefit from the government’s broader plan to upgrade schools across the country.

“We will continue with President Mahama’s initiative of expanding and converting a number of Category C schools to B, B to A, and A. Pope John will also benefit from that initiative,” he said.

The new project comes at a time when Pope John Senior High School is facing serious challenges with its ICT facilities. Out of two existing ICT laboratories, only one is functional, with just 25 working computers.

The second laboratory is completely non-functional, forcing students who study Information Technology to learn without access to computers.