DUSHANBE, April 21, 2014, Asia-Plus — A ceremony commemorating the successful completion of “The Project for Construction of Secondary School No.9 in Langar Jamoat, Kuhistoni Mastchoh District”, funded by the Government of Japan in the amount of US$ 113, 841, took place in Kuhistoni Mastchoh District on April 18.
According to Japan’s Embassy in Dushanbe, Mr. Jabbor Rizoyev, First Deputy Chairperson of Kuhistoni Mastchoh District, expressed his gratitude to Mr. Takaaki Komatsu, Third Secretary at the Embassy of Japan in Dushanbe.
The project was implemented under the framework of JAPAN’s Grant Assistance for the Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP).
Previously, only the students from grade 4 through 9 were repeatedly able to study inside the school building of School No. 9 due to the building capacity; the rest of the students were studying at the house of the school director, who voluntarily provided his place. The excessive number of students was causing the school to run in three shifts. Some students were struggling with completing their heavily crammed curriculums. In addition, due to the condition and capacity of the school building, some students as well as the students above 9th grade had no choice but to attend another school, which was several hours away by walking.
The newly constructed school building can accommodate over 240 students from surrounding villages in Langar Jamoat and provide them with more spacious classrooms and better composed curriculums. The school is now also capable of accepting students in grade 10 and 11, creating an opportunity for students to continue their education in the local area. On the completion of this project, the executive body of Kuhistoni Mastchoh procured the school equipment such as chairs, desks and blackboards for the new school building.
Remote places such as Kuhistoni Mastchoh tend to be overlooked by donors and other sources of assistance. Japan’s GGP program regards education as a true asset to maintaining the stability of a nation and facilitating the nation-wide growth; access to education is fundamental rights for all people regardless of where they reside. Mr. Komatsu remarked that these GGP projects could act as a platform for further enhancement of the cooperation between the people of Tajikistan and Japan.
Grant Assistance for Grass-roots Human Security Projects (GGP) is provided to local governments, educational/ medical institutions and International NGOs in developing countries. GGP supports projects in the human security sectors at the grassroots level. As of today, GGP has supported 320 projects in the Republic of Tajikistan, for which more than US$ 25.5 million has been provided since 1996.
