Enterprise Life Assurance Company (ELAC), a subsidiary of Enterprise Insurance Company Limited, has presented four whiteboards to Bishop Girls Junior High School in Accra in an effort to help eradicate the negative effect associated with use of chalkboards.
The donation worth GHC2,500.00 which was the brain child of Wisewater Foundation a charitable organization, formed part of its initiative to help eradicate the usage of blackboards and chalks in schools due to their health implications.
Speaking at the presentation, Mr Francis Akoto-Yirenkyi, Senior Manager, in charge of distribution, ELAC, noted that although the use of blackboards and chalk had played a tremendous role in the education of a lot of personalities in the country, the health implication associated with it called for a second look into their usage.
He noted that notwithstanding the numerous benefits associated with the use of the blackboard over the years, it had proven to have adverse effects on the health and wellbeing of both the teachers and students as a result of chalk dust.
"We at ELAC have realized the hazardous nature of chalk dust as it can accumulate in the human respiratory system, which means it can create long-term health problems due to overexposure, hence our decision to help", he said.
He appealed to the teachers to make good use of the boards and called on parents to continue to support their wards by signing them unto the educational plan of ELAC which could be used to cover their educational expenses.
He said the presentation formed part of ELAC’s Corporate Social Responsibility of giving back to society part of what the society had given to the company.
Mr Emmanuel Amarquaye, Executive Chairman, Wisewater Foundation, noted that last year, the organization presented 250 whiteboards valued at GHC63,000.00 to a lot of schools in Accra and would continue with it this year.
He expressed his appreciation to Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) for being their largest donor by donating 100 whiteboards to five schools in Accra last year.
He expressed satisfaction with the presentation as it would alleviate asthma from teachers and students due to dust allergies.
He called for the use of modern studying equipment in public schools to boost education and to make them comparable with private ones.
"The world has moved into improved classroom technology and we cannot afford to be left behind, and it's about time we equipped our schools with modern facilities such as projectors, computer networks, digital libraries, and modern and comfortable furniture," he said.
Mrs Florence Nortey, Headmistress of the School, expressed her appreciation to ELAC and Wisewater Foundation for the presentation, praising ELAC for being a good neighbour of the school.