The NPP’s Parliamentary Candidate for Sekyere Afram Plains Constituency, Mr. George Akom has set up a fresh school for one of the communities in the Sekyere Afram Plains District of the Ashanti region. The school which would start from the Kindergarten level was set up in a community called Pantanjor which has been a typical farming community with a population of about 400 people. The community which did not have any school, being a public or private one to serve the growing number of children of school going age has been of the traditional communities in the district. Some children who were of age and could walk to the nearby communities would have to walk by a distance of about 8 kilometres before they get access to a school. This has made it impossible for the younger ones to join the mainstream education.
The situation has become a demotivating factor to school going children due to the difficulty they have to go to through before getting access to education.
The Parliamentary Candidate, Mr. George Akom saw that as educational poverty and had to come out with an intervention to provide access to education for the children. He considered the situation as dangerous for the district which would have a ripple effect on the country at large.
As part of measures to solve the problem, he single handedly provided some basic logistics that could set up a fresh school for the community. He presented blackboards, writing slates and chalks to serve as the foundation to start a school in the community. He also hired three teachers who would be teaching literacy, numeracy, civil education and other subjects at the kindergarten stage. The three teachers would be paid a monthly stipend by the Parliamentary Candidate since the teachers are to teach as volunteers.
In a community engagement with the Chief and his Elders, Opinion Leaders and the entire Community, Mr. Akom stressed the need to educate the young ones to serve as the foundation for the socio- economic development of the district and Ghana at large. He indicated, that he had been a beneficiary of education that was why he always had passion to use education as a means to empower individuals for economic transformation.
Mr. Akom intimated, that his vision for the Constituency was to see to it that each person goes through at least the basic education which could yield a positive results for every household. He further opined that although, the district was dominated by farmers, it did not mean that they could not be educated or their children could not be educated. He said, ” It does not mean that if you are a farmer, you cannot be educated, or if you are educated you cannot be a farmer”. He emphasized, that he would use education to transform Sekyere Afram Plains District.
In his acceptance speech, the Chief of the Community, popularly known as Hallelujah, was dumbfounded by the timely intervention from Mr. George Akom to set up the school which was his daily nightmare. He said, that he was overwhelmed by such a gesture to the community which he never dreamt to have come from an individual.
Amidst cheers from a gathered crowd, the Chief emphatically indicated, that he saw Mr. Akom as a visionary leader who could transform Sekyere Afram Plains District to better the lives of the people and even the unborn generation. The Chief out of heart gave the name of the school as “Baakam Akom Primary School ” which should be maintained and kept on record, even if any government takes over in the future.
The entire Community was happy to see a new school being set up for their children. The first batch of the school took turns to receive their writing slates as their parents cheered them up. Mr. Akom again donated two footballs to the school as a means to entertain the children.
He appealed to the community to take the school seriously as it was to serve as a foundation for the future of the children.
He further made a passionate appeal to individuals, groups and philanthropists to support the school in a little way to achieve the purpose of its establishment, especially getting a permanent classroom for the school untill such a time a full basic school is established by the government for the community.
In a related development, the Parliamentary Candidate has started a Vacation Classes for Senior High School Students who are on vacation in the district to keep them active in their studies and to revise their topics.
Many have described Mr. Akom as someone who has been passionate about education and his contribution to his district as phenomenal.
Mr. George Akom is a renowned educationist who has rich experience in teaching and school adminstration. He recently won the Parliamentary Primaries in his Constituency and many had expressed their confidence in him to become a Member of Parliament for his Constituents due to his desire to bring positive transformation in the Constituency.