TUUNAYILI NURSERY REHABILITATED

 (Daily Graphic, Jan 18, 2012, page 19)

Pupils in one of the delapidated pavilions

THREE dilapidated pavilions that were being used by pupils of the Tuunayili MA Nursery School in Tamale have been rehabilitated and furnished.

Markaz Al-Bishara (MAB), a non-governmental organisation, converted the pavilions into full classroom blocks and furnished the classrooms with a total of 60 dual desks in addition to a play ground that was constructed earlier.

The pavilions, which were constructed for the school some years back by another NGO, School for Life, had been falling to pieces for some time now and during the raining season, water seeps from the floor.

Also, because the facility had open doors and windows, some unscrupulous persons used the place as a toilet and stole the dual desks that had been provided, thereby compelling the pupils to use the floor.

The M.A.B. therefore decided to come to the aid of the school through its Gumani Child Care and Family Helper Programme (GCCFHP), with funding from the Christian Children’s Fund of Canada (CCFC).

The Sponsorship Officer for the M.A.B., Mr Samuel Abdul-Rahaman told the Daily Graphic in an interview that his organisation had spent over GH¢15,000 for the rehabilitation works.

“We were not pleased about the state of the nursery block and the suffering of the pupils who were using the facility,” he stated.

Pupils in the newly-renovated classroom block

Mr Abdul-Rahaman noted that the M.A.B. had made early childhood development a priority area because research had shown that a good foundation is a prerequisite for success when climbing the education ladder.

He said in recent times, a lot of students have failed the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), and this has been blamed on the poor state of early childhood education.

“It is our hope that within the next two years we should be able to provide a new block for the nursery,” he added.

The Assistant Headmaster of the Tuunayili MA Primary, Mr Abukari Alhassan and the chairman of the school’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA), Pastor Abu Napari confirmed the support provided to the school by the M.A.B.

“They have provided us a decent structure for the nursery and kindergarten and we are very grateful to the organisation and its partners,” Mr Alhassan stated.

He lamented about the situation where some children come to destroy the school’s facilities when the school is not in session and said there was the need for the school and the PTA to bring their resources together and get the services of security personnel to safeguard the school’s properties.

The PTA chairman pledged the support of the association to the development of the school, saying that the poor state of infrastructure in the school was a source of worry to the association.