The government has announced plans to build 600 new basic school facilities across the country in an effort to address the long-standing issue of schools operating beneath trees.
Clement Apaak, Deputy Minister for Education, stated that the program will include the construction of 200 junior high schools, 200 kindergarten blocks, and 200 primary school blocks to address infrastructural shortfalls caused mostly by rapid population expansion.
He made the revelation during a courtesy call by 52 top BECE recipients, stating that the administration inherited over 5,000 temporary classrooms under trees and is taking concerted steps to eliminate the condition.
According to Dr. Apaak, the goal of the promise, which was reiterated by John Dramani Mahama in the State of the Nation Address and backed by clauses in the 2026 Budget, is to make learning settings safer and more favourable for students across the country.
“As I speak, there are many parts of the country where we have sufficient populations for schools to start, and because, as a state, we are not paying heed to population growth, the communities themselves come together and start a school, and that is how schools-under-trees come to be.”
“We inherited in excess of 5000 such schools under trees, and we are making a concerted effort to address this phenomenon. We are going to be constructing 200 JHS, 200 KGs, and 200 primary school blocks,” he stated.
Source: newsthemegh.com