CoE’s 300-bed hostels construction not progressing – EduWatch

Not long after the Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana (TTAG) commended the government for the construction of 300-bed hostels in Colleges of Education, Africa Education Watch says construction of the facilities is not advancing.

In a social media post sighted by AcademicWeek, Executive Director of EduWatch, Kofi Asare said as the deadline for the GHC 485 million project funded by GETFund nears 20 out of the 46 public Colleges are yet to see the construction of their hostels

“Four months to August 2023, our checks in the Colleges indicate that about 20 out of 46 Colleges are yet to see a contractor. The remaining 26 are still at foundation level, with contractors abandoning sites in some instances,” he said.

Citing a worrying situation at the Bagabaga College of Education in Tamale, he said that a roofed 400-bed hostel which started about 10 years ago has been abandoned, while the new 300-bed hostel project is also stuck at foundation level.

The education think tank Director has therefore called on the Minister for Education, Dr Yaw Adutwum to brief stakeholders on the progress of the construction of the 300-bed hostels in the 46 public Colleges of Education.

“The Minister of Education must brief stakeholders on the progress of work on the 300-bed hostels in the Colleges, as we approach the August handover deadline and announce a rescue plan,” Mr Kofi Asare said in a Facebook post.

His critique comes after the Ministry in Charge of Education (MoE) last academic year pledged to build a state-of-the-art hostel facility in all the government Colleges of Education (CoE) across the country from June 2022.

In a statement copied to AcademicWeek, a spokesman for the Ministry said the move forms part of the government education reforms to expand facilities to accommodate the increased number of students in the Colleges of Education.

“As part of the government’s Education Reforms, all public Colleges of Education (CoE) in the country have been converted/upgraded into 4-year Bachelor of Education degree-awarding institutions

This has necessitated the need to expand facilities to accommodate the increased number of students and improve teaching and learning as well,” Deputy Public Relations Officer of the Education Ministry, Yaw Opoku Mensah stated.