Students of Nantong Zuo community Junior High School in the Tamale South constituency are compelled to study in a dilapidated classroom block due to lack of proper infrastructure.
The situation according to school authorities has affected student enrolment.
They are therefore appealing to the government and philanthropists to provide them with a befitting classroom block and other basic facilities to facilitate teaching and learning.
The Nantong Zuo community, located along the Tamale-Yendi road is deprived of basic amenities such as potable water and quality health care.
Also of concern to residents is the lack of appropriate educational infrastructure.
The community has only one Junior High School which serves more than three other surrounding communities.
The Nantong Zuo community JHS was built by community members to help the students who completed their primary education further their studies.
Since it was built during the Acheampong regime, the school has not seen any major renovation.
The poor nature of the school has affected enrolment with the current student population standing at one hundred and three.
Huge cracks have developed on the classroom blocks, while the classroom floors have potholes, generating dust during the harmattan season.
The school also lacks desks. The few available desks are weak.
Haruna Ahmed is a final year student of the school and he told Citi News that “We are unable to write when it’s windy because the wind blows dust into our eyes. Our uniforms gets dirty.”
“Our desks are weak. During the rainy season, we are unable to sit in our classrooms. We are just managing here.”
A tree serves as the staff common room for teachers.
Headteacher of the school, Alhassan Yakubu Abukari complained about the challenges confronting the school.
“The nature of the school doesn’t attract students. We have a primary school here but they refuse to come to this JHS because of the infrastructure challenge. Sometimes I embark on trips to the surrounding communities to canvass for students because the teachers here are good as compared to those in the cities. So we wish people could come and assist us with a new classroom block or at least renovate this for us.”
However, the circuit supervisor for the area, Alhassan Fusieni explained why the school is still grappling with the current challenges.
“It’s unfortunate the enrolment of the school is not much. The capitation grant given to them is what they use to manage the school. It is not enough to buy chalk and cement to repair the classroom floors. The higher the population the higher the capitation. So I’ll suggest the headteacher embarks on an enrolment drive, even with that if the population increases there still won’t be enough classrooms and desks for them to use. So it is a big challenge.”
The situation at Nantong Zuo community JHS is a reflection of the general situation across schools in rural communities in the north.
Analysts have warned that if the infrastructural challenges are not addressed, Ghana may not achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 which aimed at ensuring equitable quality education for all.
–
By: Diana Ngon | citinewsroom.com | Ghana