The Sissala East Municipal Assembly has presented 1,000 desks to the Sissala East Municipal office of the Ghana Education Service (GES) to be distributed to selected schools in the municipality.

They were funded by the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) to help address the acute furniture deficit confronting basic schools in the municipality.

Speaking at a brief ceremony in Tumu to present the furniture, Mr Bening Adamu Yakubu, the Sissala East Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), said the intervention was necessitated by inadequate furniture for school children in the municipality over the years, affecting teaching and learning in the area.

He said the 1,000 desks being donated were procured from last year’s budget and disclosed that the Assembly would procure an additional 1,000 desks this year to further bridge the furniture gap.

He appealed to the GES and school authorities to institute a positive maintenance culture to ensure the desks served their intended purpose for a longer period.

Mr Yakubu further disclosed that the Assembly was also constructing school blocks in some communities, including Sumborun, Bakwala and Kulfuo Friwa, among others, to further improve children’s access to education in the municipality.

The MCE gave the assurance that the Assembly would continue to invest in the educational sector of the municipality.

Mr Godfred Beveru Kanton, the Sissala East Municipal Deputy Director of Education in Charge of Administration and Finance, who represented the Municipal Director of Education, commended the MCE and the Assembly for the donation.

He said the Municipality had a pupil population of over 12,000, out of which the current batch of desks would serve only 2,100 pupils, leaving a significant deficit yet to be addressed.

Mr Kanton indicated that 43 schools across the municipality would benefit from the gesture.

The items were 600 dual desks to serve 1,200 pupils, 300 mono desks, and 100 hexagonal desks to serve a total of 600 pupils.

He said the furniture would be given to schools that critically needed it.

He added that the office had tasked the Standards-Based and School Improvement Officers (SISOs) in the municipality to lead the process of selecting the beneficiary schools.

Mr Yakubu Mahama, a School Management Committee (SMC) Chairman for Challu, said the donation would go a long way to improve their school’s furniture situation.

He, however, appealed to the Assembly to also support the Challu Basic School with cement to rebuild its old structure.