An uncompleted lecture theatre, which has been abandoned for over 40-years, has finally been given a facelift and completed for use by the Management of St. John Bosco’s College of Education, Navrongo in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality of the Upper East Region.
The structure, which was left at its foundation level in the 1970’s, was initially built as a 2-storey building but has been given a facelift and turned into 2-unit lecture theatre with two (2) spacious offices. The reconstruction process, which began in August 2021, has been completed and handed over to the College on Friday, May 20, 2022.
Speaking during a handing over ceremony of the project, the Principal of the school Prof. Joseph Amikuzuno said the College spent about GH¢360,000.00 on the project from its Internally Generated Funds (IGF).
He said, “The lack of space on the campuses of colleges that the other institutions face is not just because they have no idea to free spaces, it is rather because there is no money. This is the underlining factor. So we asked where do we get money to do this? Again it was the team that came out with ideas. So we decided to do it gradually [from phase 1 to phase 2]. We got little money from the fees and IGF to complete the project”.
“The 2-unit lecture theatre was started in the 1970’s as a 2-storey building but abandoned at the foundation level. We therefore decided to complete it at a cost of GH¢358,000.00 as a single storey structure because the foundation had become too weak to support the original plan of a 2-storey building”. – He added.
The construction of the project was undertaken by Tonybeck Company Ltd; a construction firm in the region, which has successfully executed several other projects over the years for public, private sectors and individuals.
Handing over the project to the school, the firm appealed to management and staff of the institution to cultivate the culture of maintenance to keep its beauty in order to enjoy the value for money and total cost of ownership, as the company is ever ready to provide technical assistance with regards to operational directives and instructions of the electrical and electronic gadgets.
The current student population of the College stands at 1,756. Due to the introduction of the 4-year Bachelor of Education programme in all the 46 public Colleges of Education in Ghana, most Colleges are in dire need of infrastructure to help accommodate student and teachers. Some Colleges have taken the initiative to augment the efforts of government by constructing hostel facilities and lecture halls using their Internally Generated Funds and St. John Bosco’s College is no exception.
IGF projects being carried out in the College are the renovation of dilapidated staff bungalows and acquisition of high density Ash foam mattresses for students use among others.
Established in 1946 as a Catholic Educational institution, the College prides itself as a center of excellence in teacher education in Ghana and beyond with its mission of seeking to create and sustain a conducive environment for quality training of teacher trainees in relevant skills, adequate knowledge and positive attitudes to enhance the moral, spiritual and social values for teaching at the Pre-tertiary level.
