The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has assured the public that government is taking swift action to address concerns at Aburi Girls’ Senior High School, while outlining broader plans to tackle infrastructure challenges across the country.
“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 authorities had already taken steps to manage the situation, particularly regarding faulty 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.
Despite this assurance, the Minister acknowledged the concerns of parents and students, noting that the issue could affect academic activities if not resolved quickly.
“Legitimately, parents are concerned; students are concerned. It can affect… their academic life and work. And we are mindful of that,” he said.
He further assured that immediate steps are being taken to resolve the situation.
“Yes, it will be addressed immediately… I would get the Director General of the GES management to move in, and then we mobilise resources to support the institution to fix it.”
“By the end of this week, the temporary crisis will be resolved,” he added.
Beyond the immediate response, Mr Iddrisu highlighted broader structural challenges facing the education sector, describing school infrastructure nationwide as being in a “dire state” requiring urgent attention.
“There’s a larger crisis across the country. Education infrastructure is in a dire state, a very poor state. And we have to work to fix it,” he stated, adding that he has already submitted a cabinet paper on the issue to the President.
As part of longer-term measures, the Minister revealed plans to establish a technical committee and secure funding to respond more effectively to emergencies in schools.
He disclosed that government is working with the Finance Ministry to allocate “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, noting that funds would be channelled through the Ghana Education Service to address urgent needs such as those at Aburi Girls.
Mr Iddrisu also referred to ongoing efforts to improve facilities in girls’ schools, including ICT projects with integrated sanitation systems, although he noted that some of these projects are yet to begin.
“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.
In addition, the Minister pointed to ongoing discussions to secure about $300 million from the World Bank to support infrastructure development in the education sector.
