By Benjamin Makafui Attipoe, Sogakope
The Member of Parliament (MP) for South Tongu Constituency in the Volta Region, Hon. Maxwell Kwame Lukutor, has supported more than 600 Junior High School (JHS) graduates in the constituency with chopboxes and mattresses valued at approximately GH¢420,000. The items were presented to the beneficiaries at a colourful ceremony in Sogakope, attended by parents, students, traditional rulers and other education stakeholders.
The initiative is intended to ease the financial burden on parents as their wards prepare to begin their first year of Senior High School (SHS).
Explaining the motivation behind the gesture, Hon. Lukutor said the cost of preparing a child for SHS could be a significant financial burden on families. He said his personal experience of preparing his own ward for SHS, which cost about GH¢7,000, made him appreciate the difficulties parents face in providing the required items.
According to him, he had previously supported students with mathematical sets but decided this year to provide chopboxes and mattresses because they were among the more essential items needed by students entering boarding schools. “I decided that this year, instead of giving them the mathematical sets that are given to them in the past, I decided to upgrade it to the chopboxes and the mattresses and give to them free of charge. At least, that would relieve the burden of parents,” he said.
The MP urged the beneficiaries to take their studies seriously and make good use of the opportunity they had been given to pursue secondary education. He said the support was an investment in the future of the young people and expressed the hope that the beneficiaries would work hard and return home with good results.
The South Tongu District Chief Executive (DCE), Hon. Victoria Dzeklo, also urged the beneficiaries to count themselves fortunate for the support and work hard to justify the investment being made in their education. She pledged the commitment of the District Assembly to improving educational infrastructure across the district to create a conducive environment for effective teaching and learning.
The South Tongu District Director of Education, Mrs. Celestine Sewoenam Adzoa Korsi-Agordo, commended the MP for the initiative. She said the intervention was particularly important because a significant number of communities in the district are rural, making the transition from JHS to SHS financially challenging for many families.
Some of the beneficiary students and their parents who spoke to the news team welcomed the gesture, describing it as timely and helpful. The students expressed appreciation to the MP and pledged to work hard in their various schools to justify the confidence and investment placed in them.
