Kupiano Secondary School in Abau District, Central Province, yesterday opened its’ new double story male dormitory consisting of sixty four rooms which was fully funded by the Central Provincial Government.
A total of 2.5 million kina was given towards the construction of the dormitory as well as other upcoming projects for the school including a four in one classroom, a girls’ dormitory and six staff houses.
The construction of the dormitory building took about two months to complete and was finally opened yesterday.
Governor of Central Province, Mr. Robert Agarobe, stressed that the purpose of these projects is to create a pathway for better quality education and that starts with the learning environment for the students.
“It’s not just about building a dormitory and building a classroom, it’s about structuring a pathway from start to finish and that is why human resource is important and so it starts with you the students. We invest in you for a better future.”
“We must all understand that education is a function of the National Government and we the Provincial Government value this, therefore we make sure that our students get the quality education that they need. And with that I have allocated K2.5 million to Kupiano Secondary and another K2.5 million to Kwikila Secondary,” Mr Agarobe said.
Agarobe added that this is just the start of what is yet to come for the school with more upcoming projects to be carried out now that funding has already been put towards the infrastructure of the school.
“Quality education is not just about teaching in the classroom, it’s about where the students go to sleep, where the students study, where the teacher goes to sleep and where the teacher does his/her preparations for classes,” Agarobe added.
According to Agarobe, this is the first phase of what the provincial government will be carrying out in the school which is the infrastructure of classrooms, dormitories and staff houses.
The second phase that will be carried out will be the infrastructure of science and computer labs and an administration building.
In addition to this, Agarobe said that the provincial government is looking towards building a new curriculum for all schools in Central Province.
He said that the provincial plan now is to make sure that all schools are in line with Agriculture, tourism and sports and that is why the plan is to change all secondary schools into Agro Technical schools.
“These are the plans that we are aiming to build for the students so that they are well aware and taught the basics at a secondary level before moving onto the tertiary level.”
He also stated that for this year, a total of K8.3 million has been put into school fees alone for all schools within the province.
The Central governor encouraged the students to perform well to the best of their ability and to make sure that the money invested is put to good use.
Apart from the funding given to the school, Agarobe announced that with the newly built hospital at the Kupiano station, a total of fifty beds will be donated as well as a new Ambulance.
“This is part of improving the livelihoods for the people of Kupiano starting from the children to the elders,” he said.