GES urged to take over abandoned projects

Feb, 2011
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Parliamentary Select Committee on Education has recommended to the Ministry of Education to take over abandoned or slow-pace projects which have been initiated by schools or communities, instead of starting new projects.
The committee said such a measure would be cost-effective at this crucial moment when expanded facilities were needed to accommodate students and curb overcrowding.
This was contained in a report of the committee after visiting some selected schools in the Brong Ahafo, Eastern and Volta regions last year.
The contents of the report was discussed at a stakeholders forum attended by regional ministers, Members of Parliament (MPs) and the two deputy ministers of the Ministry of Education, Mr J.S. Annan and Mrs Elizabeth Amoah-Tetteh, in Accra on Wednesday.
The committee’s recommendation were made as a result of some observations it made during the visit.
According to the report, members of the committee observed delays in the execution of projects, poor maintenance culture, over-enrolment of students, shoddy execution of projects, abandoned projects, lack of proper record and keeping of projects.
Other observations made were non-enforcement of contract agreements, delays in honouring approved certificates, poor collaboration between stakeholders of projects at all levels, lack of regular monitoring and execution of projects and over-enrolment of students resulting in pressure on use of the facilities provided, among others.
The committee, therefore, recommended to the sector ministry and the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to prioritise projects and ensure completion of ongoing ones before the award of new ones to ensure timely completion and avoid overrun of projects.
It also called for the necessary transitional arrangements between incoming and outgoing governments to avoid instances where projects were halted for one reason or another when a new government takes over power.
“The committee believes that quality education is key to poverty reduction and national development and for that matter it should not be subjected to any form of political vendetta,” it said.
It also suggested that special funds should be set aside for the periodic maintenance of existing facilities in order to prolong their lifespan while heads of institutions should also be encouraged to undertake regular maintenance.
The reports said against the backdrop of the AESL consultants’ inability to live up to expectation since its establishment, “the committee is of the view that the current AESL role as supervisory body should be changed to that of a regulatory agent in the construction industry” so that it could regulate activities of private consultants.
The Chairman of the committee, Mr Mathias A. Puozaa, who signed the report, expressed the hope that the Ministry of Education and the GETFund would take the necessary steps to address the identified bottlenecks to ensure value for money for projects being undertaken by the government in the various educational institutions.