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| National Chief Imam |
One of the
biggest development problems which has plagued many Zongo communities (Muslim
settlements) in Ghana for several decades now is high illiteracy rate, which has seen a lot women and
girls being denied the benefit of formal education.
This can be
attributed to successive governments’ failure over the years to consider the
problem as a development priority. Thus, the situation has also aided in giving
birth to other challenges such as poor sanitary conditions and social vices amongst
the people.
That is not to
say that there are no schools in these communities, but many of the residents
there enroll their children into English and Arabic Schools which are under-resourced
in terms of qualified teachers, adequate infrastructure as well as teaching and
learning materials.
Besides, there
is lack of adequate supervision and monitoring by persons charged with the responsibility
to take care of these schools as compared to other schools.
No wonder the
Northern Region, a predominantly Muslim area, about 48.4 percent of males and
65.7 percent of females have no formal education at all according to the 2008
report of Ghana Demographic and Health Survey.
Similarly, the
report says 74.1 percent of women and 55.4 percent of men in the region cannot
read at all in the English language, pegging the region as the least performing
in terms of formal education in Ghana.
Therefore, the
Sheik Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu Educational Trust Fund (SONSETFund), a bold initiative
by the National chief Imam which is aimed at providing schools and scholarships
in Zongo communities and to every Muslim student in the country, could not have
come at a better time than this.
The initiative
which is being supported by MTN Ghana Foundation encourages all believers of
the Islamic faith to dial or text to MTN short code 1515 to donate an amount of
money towards the SONSETFund. Believers who text receive daily messages from
the Qur’an and also stand the chance of winning prizes such as cash, airtime
and other gifts.
Through the
SONSETFund, a six-unit classroom block with office, store and toilet facility
has been built for the Monawara English and Arabic School at Wulshe-Kukuo, a
suburb of the Tamale Metropolis.
Commissioning
the school, Godfred Kwarteng, a representative of MTN Ghana, said no other
investment has such a lasting effect as the education of children, adding that “children
who go to school are generally healthier, more self-assured and can more easily
assume a profession. Education is therefore a major and effective “vaccine”
against poverty”, he opined.
According to Mr.
Kwarteng, the MTN Ghana Foundation since its inception 5 years ago has spent
over GH¢7.8million in the area of education alone to enhance teaching and learning
through the provision of schools, ICT centres and learning materials which is
currently impacting 1.5million people.
For instance, he
cited the construction of UNDP ICT centres of learning in the Tolon District;
3-unit classroom block with office and store and an ICT centre at Kanvilli
Presby Junior High School in Tamale; 6-unit classroom block with office and
store at Zujung in Tamale; as well as provision of streetlights, sporting kits,
supplementary readers and laboratory equipment as well as a 12-seater toilet
facility for the Tamale Senior High School.
Meanwhile, the chief
of Wulshe-Kukuo Wulshe-Naa Adam Lansah recounted that the school was
established in 1998 and adopted by the Ahamadiyya Education Unit to run as an
English and Arabic School in 1999.
He said since
the establishment, the school has been faced with a number of challenges which
include infrastructure but thanks to the National Chief Imam and MTN Ghana
Foundation that has been resolved.
The chief
appealed to the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly and the Member of Parliament for
the Tamale South Constituency to come to the aid of the school by addressing
the problems of inadequate classroom furniture, inadequate textbooks and lack
of a fence wall.
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