The government has secured $70 million from the World Bank to retool technical schools in the country, the Minister of Education, Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu has said. Additionally, she said, the government was in the process of sourcing $2 million to support vocational training for apprentices in all districts. Mrs. Mould-Iddrisu, who made this known when President John Evans Atta Mills inaugurated a dormitory facility in Koforidua on Tuesday, said the retooling programme would be rolled out by December this year. She said since the Mills administration assumed office, it had been confronted with a myriad of challenges but said those initial hiccups were being tackled head-on. For his part, President Mills said technical education was the foundation of the “Better Ghana” agenda, adding that the government would provide the necessary environment to enable the students’ to achieve the maximum benefit of education. “This is just the beginning. We will make strenuous efforts to ensure that your ends are met,” he stressed. He acknowledged the challenges confronting education in rural areas, in particular in terms of teachers and infrastructure, adding that it was in that respect that the government had rolled out some interventions such as free exercise books and uniforms and the construction of school blocks and dormitories to improve on the situation. He used the occasion to appeal to students to reciprocate the gesture by the government by concentrating on their studies and not to engage in any activity that would ruin their future. He commended the contractors for executing a good job. The President later inaugurated a six-unit classroom and dormitory block at Amankwakrom in the Kwahu North District and a dormitory block at Donkorkrom. He also inspected the Tease-Dwarf Island feeder road and inaugurated the Ekye Amanfrom/Maame Krobo water project, both in the Afram plains. In a related development, President Mills on Tuesday announced plans by the government to acquire two pontoons to facilitate transportation on the Volta Lake and other rivers. He expressed grave concern over the number of accidents on the lake annually and was of the view that the acquisition of new pontoons would help alleviate the problem. He made this known on board a pontoon while crossing the Volta Lake to the Afram Plains where he inspected projects initiated by the government. The President reiterated the government’s commitment to support the people, since the area was the food basket of the country and they had been deprived for so long. Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana