Education infrastructure investment will drive Banda’s development – Ahmed Ibrahim

Minister of Works, Housing and Water Resources and Member of Parliament for Banda, Ahmed Ibrahim, says the government’s investment in educational infrastructure is critical to developing the human capital needed to drive sustainable development in the district. According to him, the expansion and modernisation of facilities at Bandaman Senior High Technical School will equip young people with the scientific, technical and vocational skills required to take advantage of emerging opportunities, including those associated with major projects in the area. Speaking during an inspection of ongoing GETFund projects at the school, Mr Ibrahim said Banda must move beyond dependence on agriculture and deliberately invest in education and skills development. “We are in the era of knowledge capital, where the human resources of the place, of the people, are the greatest asset that we have,” he said.

He explained that about 44,000 acres of land in the Banda District had been acquired for the construction of the Bui Hydro Dam project, affecting communities whose livelihoods are predominantly dependent on farming. Mr Ibrahim said the development made it even more important for residents to acquire the technical and scientific skills necessary to benefit from opportunities created by the project. He noted that although the Bui Power Authority employs about 644 workers, only a small number are from the district. “Clearly, if care is not taken to train the people scientifically, in the near future the sustainability of the project will not be guaranteed,” he added. Mr Ibrahim said this was the motivation behind prioritising secondary and technical education in the district, with a focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). He said the upgraded school would help…