Colleges of Education hostel projects start

The government has completed processes to construct 300-bed hostel blocks in all 45 colleges of education. The actual construction of the three-storey block for each college, estimated to cost GH¢485 million, is being funded by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) and is on schedule to start across the country next month.

The Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, told a section of the media last Friday that the project was an initiative of the government through the ministry and its agency, the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC).

He said it was aimed at helping resolve accommodation challenges in the colleges.

Local contractors

The minister stated that the projects would be executed by 45 local contractors and were expected to be completed in 15 months and handed over to the colleges by August next year.

Dr Adutwum was upbeat that with the current measures in place, the contractors would be able to execute the project on schedule.

He added that to ensure timely delivery, the ministry and GTEC were having discussions with GETFund to make available a mobilisation loan of at least 10 per cent of the contract sum to each contractor.

The Education Minister explained that the construction works were expected to generate over 2,500 direct and indirect temporary employment for the youth.

Again, he stated that upon completion, the project stood the chance of improving effective teaching and learning in the colleges which trained a larger chunk of teachers for the pre-tertiary sector of education.

Background

As part of the government’s education reforms, all public colleges of education have been converted into four-year Bachelor of Education degree-awarding institutions.

This has necessitated an expansion of facilities to accommodate the increasing number of students and also improve teaching and learning.

This explains why the government, through the Ministry of Education and its agencies, GTEC and GETFund, agreed to undertake the construction of the hostels.

Source: Graphic.com.gh