In a proactive response to the recurring destruction of educational infrastructure due to unforeseen natural disasters, the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has proposed the establishment of a dedicated emergency fund.

This special fund, according to the minister, will be solely allocated for the swift reconstruction of school facilities that suffer damage from rainstorms, fire outbreaks, or other catastrophic events.

The minister’s proposal comes in the wake of a devastating fire that recently gutted the girls’ dormitory of Labone Senior High School in Accra.

The minister said the incident, which left many students displaced and caused significant damage to school property highlights the urgent need for a structured response mechanism to address such crises.

During a visit to the affected school to assess the extent of the damage, Haruna Iddrisu spoke to journalists about the necessity of an emergency intervention fund intimating that such a fund would ensure that reconstruction efforts are carried out without unnecessary delays, preventing prolonged disruptions to academic activities.

“I can’t put a number to the amount of money needed for renovations, but be assured that Labone Secondary School and Northern School of Business in Tamale and a school in Akrokere in the Ashanti region, which was also hit by a rainstorm, will benefit from our emergency intervention.

“But what this wakes me up to is that government must have a dedicated emergency fund under the Ghana Education Service budget to be able to respond timeously to some of these unpredictable natural and human occurrences.”