Salaga SHS to build boys dormitory block

THE government of Japan has provided a grant of GH¢94,923 ($79,7687) to the Salaga Senior High School for the construction of a boys’ dormitory block.
The initiative, which is being carried out under the Japanese Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGHSP), is expected to house 300 students in a four-room dormitory block.
Speaking at a signing ceremony, the Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Keiichi Katakami, who signed on behalf of his government, expressed the hope that the new facility would lead to excellent academic results from the students.
“When students are forced by necessity to sleep in overcrowded dormitories or on verandas, or travel up to six kilometres daily to school, the result is to deprive them of much-needed rest and to severely limit their ability to absorb and retain knowledge. Well-rested students have been proven to be brighter and more productive in class,” he said.
He said it was for this reason that 17 out of the 110 educational projects funded by the GGHSP had been student accommodation projects, which had gone a long way to complement the efforts of the schools.
Mr Katakami said in spite of the challenges facing the school, it still remained one of the best secondary schools in the Northern Region.
He believed that the new facility would lead to excellent academic results from the students, who would devote themselves to the service of the community and the development of Ghana as a whole.
“Salaga School is also blessed with a highly supportive parent-teacher association (PTA), which has pledged to provide water for the construction and to supply beds for the dormitory once it is completed. With such spirit backing this project, I have no doubt that it will be a great success,” he said.
The Headmaster of the school, Mr Issah B. Yahaya, said the school was established in 1976 on the premises of a middle boarding school.
Mr Yahaya said the school had become the choice of many basic school leavers within and beyond its catchment area.
According to him, no single dormitory had been added to the old middle school and as a result, about 200 students, mainly boys, had to daily commute on bicycles over distances ranging from six kilometres to 12 kilometres to school.
“Some of these students live in villages that do not have electricity to enable them to study effectively at home. This situation has consequently put so much pressure on the school’s administration,” he complained.
He expressed his profound gratitude to the Japanese Embassy for its tremendous support to the school.