In a recent Facebook post, Kofi Asare, the Executive Director at Africa Education Watch, expressed his deep worries regarding the number of abandoned projects in colleges of education.
Asare highlighted that it seems there are more abandoned projects than completed ones in the 46 colleges of education across the country therefore describing them as brick-and-mortar museums.
He specifically drew attention to the government’s announcement last year about the construction of new 300-bed hostel facilities in all colleges of education which the majority have not seen the light of the day.
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This project was estimated to cost GHC 485 million and was expected to be completed by August 2023.
Despite being in October 2023, Asare asserted that, except for the Accra College of Education and two others, all the said new hostel projects have also been abandoned at the foundation level.
“This has only added to the existing stock of unfinished projects, turning colleges of education into brick-and-mortar museums”, he stated.
He added that many of these campuses already had abandoned hostel projects dating back as far as 2012 which the government can continue than starting a new one.
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Asare further emphasized the financial implications of these abandoning projects. He noted that for every year a project remains abandoned, an additional 20% cost is incurred on top of the original estimate.
This not only wastes precious resources but also exacerbates the existing problems and creates larger ones in the process.
The lack of adequate infrastructure in the colleges of education has been a long-standing challenge. It has affected various aspects of the college’s operations, including enrollment numbers and overall educational quality.
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Due to the lack of proper facilities in most of the colleges, students are faced with difficulties in accessing accommodation, classrooms, and other essential resources. This, in turn, hampers their learning experience.
The current state of neglected projects in colleges of education raises serious concerns and it is hoped to be looked at by the appropriate authorities soon.
