The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has assured the public that the government is moving quickly to fix the problems at Aburi Girls Senior High School.
The minister shared this during an interview on Wednesday, April 8, while responding to reports about water shortages and sanitation challenges at the school.
He admitted that the issue worries both the government and the Ghana Education Service (GES), but he believes people have exaggerated the problem.
“My attention has just been drawn to the developments at Aburi Girls Senior High School, which is of concern to the government and the GES. We will work to remedy it as soon as possible,” he said.
Mr Iddrisu explained that school leaders had already started fixing the problems, especially the damaged toilet facilities.
“There were two of those toilet facilities. One has been fixed. One is in the process of being repaired, and the repair work will be completed by the weekend,” he said.
“But it’s largely exaggerated if I may… the situation is under control,” he added.
However, he said the concerns of the parents and students are valid, especially because such problems can disrupt learning.
Looking beyond the current issue, Mr Iddrisu also spoke about the state of school infrastructure across Ghana, describing it as very poor and in urgent need of attention.
To prevent similar situations in the future, the Minister shared plans to set up a technical committee and secure steady funding for emergency needs in schools.
He revealed that the government is working with the Finance Ministry to set aside “2% of the GETFund formula to respond to site national emergencies.”
“This will help us deal with situations like storms, fires, or damage to school facilities,” he explained.
He added that GES will manage these funds to respond quickly to urgent problems like those at Aburi Girls.
Mr Iddrisu also spoke about efforts to improve facilities in girls’ schools. He mentioned ongoing ICT projects that include better sanitation systems, although some of these projects have not started yet.
“We have just given Aburi Girls, Holy Child, St. Xavier some new ICT facilities for girls, which include toilet facilities. But that’s just about projects that are yet to take off,” he said.
He further added that the government is in talks with the World Bank to secure about $300 million to support school infrastructure across the country.
