By Nicholas Osei-Wusu
The grounds have been broken for the commencement of the construction of the 1st ever independent Examination Questions Printing Centre in Ghana for the printing of examination question papers for both public and private schools within the Obuasi Municipality and adjoining districts.
The project, being funded at a cost of ¢2.4 million, seeks to give an additional impetus to the government’s Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE), as well as guarantee a perfect pass rate at the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), in the municipality within the short term.
The Obuasi Municipality of Ashanti has an enviable record in the annual Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), as the best-performing administrative district in the region for many years now.
But the authorities consider some aspects of financing by parents, particularly printing fees during examination periods, as an impediment to the quest for a perfect pass rate of candidates the municipality has been presenting for the BECE.
It is to address this drawback that key stakeholders, especially the Municipal Assembly, Municipal Directorate of Education, AngloGold Ashanti, and the traditional leadership, are coming up with innovations, new programmes, policies, and projects aimed at boosting teaching and learning.
The municipality presently has 32 primary schools and 27 junior high schools, with a total pupil population of about 10 thousand in both the public and private sectors.
The Obuasi Municipal Assembly has provided land very close to the Municipal Library Complex, with AngloGold Ashanti financing the entire construction at a cost of ¢2.4 million.
The project has been awarded to a local construction firm, Q-Tek Engineering and Construction Limited, with the project completion date set for March 2024.
On completion, the Obuasi Examinations Printing Centre will have facilities including a Printing and Production Room, offices and storage rooms with the use of both local and foreign building materials with emphasis on environmental sustainability.
The Obuasi Municipal Chief Executive, Elijah Adansi Bona, assured that the Assembly will be committed to ensuring the maintenance of the Examination Printing Centre, providing funds for its production, and charging others who come for some services.
“Introduction of the FCUBE has brought financial pressure to the Assembly since we have had to support the education directorate during Mock and terminal exams. This project will therefore relieve the Assembly of part of this challenge. The Printing Centre will print exam questions at no cost to either public or private schools in Obuasi, except for other private interests, who will be charged a fee to maintain its operations”, Mr. Bona noted.
The Senior Manager in charge of Project Services and Business Improvement of AngloGold Ashanti, Jacob Edmund-Aquah, disclosed that formal education within the Municipality has been prioritised by the mine in line with the 10-year Socio-Economic Development Programme to make Obuasi self-sustaining with or without gold production, hence the huge investment in technology, provision of relevant academic resources, and capacity building for teachers in the area.
He disclosed, “the exam printing centre is just one of the many education infrastructure projects that AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine champions. Notably, the company is nearing the completion of the ultramodern Sanso M/A Junior High School, which promises to nurture young minds with advanced educational facilities. In addition, the Mine is constructing a ROBOTICS Centre at the Obuasi Senior High Technical School, which when completed, will introduce cutting-edge technology to enhance the learning experiences of students while encouraging an interest in STEM education.”
The Obuasi Municipal Director of Education, George Koomson, said when it becomes functional, the Centre will help the municipality move from its current BECE pass rate of 94 percent to a perfect score and make the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education policy meaningful.
“With the FCUBE, parents are not supposed to pay anything; it’s the government that is supposed to bear the cost. Now that AngloGold Ashanti has come to the aid of the Municipal Assembly, it’s going to go a long way to help parents put in the best support for their children in the payment of printing fees,” he said.