2 ORGANISATIONS LAUNCH MICRO-SCHOOL PROJECT (PAGE 11)

THE Sinapi Aba Trust, in conjunction with IDP Foundation of the United States, an international non-governmental organisation (NGO), has launched a micro-school project to help develop the potentials of needy private schools in Ghana.
The project, dubbed “IDP Rising Schools,” has started with 30 private basic schools in the Ashanti and Bong Ahafo regions.
Among other benefits, Sinapi Aba and its partners would provide the schools with credit facilities to improve infrastructure and run other activities in the schools, provide business training programmes for school heads, and also support teachers to upgrade themselves.
Officials of Sinapi Aba Trust disclosed that the project, is being implemented on pilot basis.
The Ministry of Education has given its blessings to the start of the project and in the long run, the initiators of the project hope to extend it to other countries of the sub-region.
To kick-start the project, a training programme was organised in Kumasi last Friday for proprietors and other representatives of the beneficiary schools.
Speaking at the programme, Mr Aaron Opoku Ahene, Head of Business of Sinapi Aba Trust, observed that education was the cornerstone of national development.
Consequently, he said it was important that such support was extended to the sector to help develop the youth for the future development of the nation.
Mr Ahene said information technology was ruling the world “but if we do not develop our education we cannot be part of this age”.
“That is why we are determined to help the needy schools come up so that more children will benefit from their services,” he said.
The business manager noted that a number of teachers in the private schools were not trained, but expressed the hope that the project would help in addressing this situation to a large extent.
He advised the beneficiary schools to work with the money that would be advanced to them so that they could pay back without any difficulty.
Mr Ahene stated that a reward scheme had been put in place for schools that would excel in the exercise.
Ms Anne Schumacher, a representative of IDP Foundation, said the decision to support private schools was very important because the schools played a major role in educational development of the country.
She was confident that something positive would said she come out of the project.