Aboabo Basic School at Akwapim in poor state …as pupils cry for help
The Pupils of Aboabo Basic and Junior High School (JHS) in the Akwapim North Municipality of the Eastern Region are studying under poor conditions due to the incompletion of their 6-unit classroom block.
The school block which was abandoned since 2006, saw some renovation in 2019, through the Common Fund of the Member of Parliament (MP), but work halted in the same year, leaving the building in a poor condition.
The windows and doors of the school block is uncompleted, has untiled rough floor surfaces and walls, and its foundation has been raised with uncompleted staircases, posing a risk for pupils, especially those who sit by the uncompleted window and doors, as they may fall off to the ground at the least mistake.
A six-year-old pupil, Peter Mawuli, reportedly injured himself when he was playing with his friends on one of the uncompleted staircases.
Due to the incompletion of the building, management of the school has to close the school anytime it rained to save the pupils, and to avoid school materials including their books, getting soaked in the rains.
The pupils are compelled to pack their desks, teacher’s tables and chairs daily to a safe place in the mornings and after school hours to prevent theft due to the lack of doors and windows.
One of the pupils, 16-year-old Grace Annan, a JHS Form 3 pupil, told the Ghanaian Times during a visit to the school that the bad conditions in the school made it difficult for effective teaching and learning.
“It makes it difficult for us to grasp what the teachers even teach us, and we lose a lot of contact hours when it rained heavily or the sun is too shiny because we would be forced to close school,” she revealed, and added that coupled with the poor learning environment, was the lack of adequate text books.
She added that the situation was a disadvantage to the JHS 3 pupils who were preparing for the upcoming Basic Education Certificate Examination (B.E.C.E.)
Ms Annan complained about lack of girl-friendly toilet facility which made it difficult for girls during their menstrual period.
The headmaster of the school, Ebenezer Adjetey Swam, told the Ghanaian Times that the poor condition of the school was negatively affecting teaching and learning, and added that he had written several letters to the assembly and other stakeholders to come to the aid of the school, all his efforts had proved futile.
When contacted the Municipal Chief Executive for the Akwapem North Municipality, BarimaAsieduLarbi, confirmed the bad state of the school, but explained that the project was purely financed by the MP’s Common Fund project with the MP for Akropong Constituency having sole supervisory role over it.
He also indicated that the Assembly would not be able to take over the project unless the MP writes to the assembly for lack of funding, “then we would be able to change the source of funding for the project, include in our budget before we can take over the project.”
When the Ghanaian Times contacted the personal assistant to the MP for Akropong in charge of operations, and owner of Obour Operations, Mr Frank Adu, who was said to be the one in charge of the school project, admitted the bad state of the school and assured that contractors would soon move to the site to complete the building.
The MP for Akropong Municipality, Ms Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah-Adjei, told the Ghanaian Times that she had tried to “resurrect” the abandoned project in 2019 through the MP’s Statutory Funds, but work halted due to limited resource.
FROM AMA TEKYIWAA AMPADU AGYEMAN, KOFORIDUA
