By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Kpantarigo (U/E), Oct 3, GNA – The Kpantarigo Junior High School in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region does not have a classroom block and other essential infrastructure since its establishment in 2010.
Over the years, pupils of the school learnt in a dilapidated mud structure which was originally constructed by members of the community to house kindergarten pupils, before the construction of the primary school.
When the Ghana News Agency visited the school, it observed that the structure had three small rooms.
There were several cracks on the walls and floor of the structure, while the roofing was also in a bad state, posing health hazards to the pupils and teachers.
Management told GNA that the school currently had about 110 pupils, spreading across the three classes with each room unable to contain up to 30 pupils.
Mr Pius Agbango, the Headteacher of the Kpantarigo JHS, said apart from the lack of classroom block, the school had only 24 dual desks, compelling the pupils to share four per dual desk, while others sit on the bare floor.
He said the situation was causing absenteeism and some parents had withdrawn their wards to other schools, thereby decreasing the enrollment numbers each year.
“Because of poverty, when you ask the parents to help in providing desks for their children, they will say they do not have money, students keep dropping out and the situation also affects their handwriting and performance, especially at the Basic Education Certificate Education,” he lamented.
Mr Agbango said the school did not have Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities, compelling the pupils and teachers to defecate in the open and trek long distances to access water.
He said many appeals had been sent to the Bawku West District Assembly through written letters, but all efforts proved futile.
Mr Godwin Abugbilla, a resident and student of Ashesi University who had launched a mentorship programme to tackle rampant school dropout in the area, noted that many people in the Kpantarigo community and its environs did not have formal education and appealed to organisations and individuals to assist the school to provide education for the people.
Mr Timothy Nasaal, the Bawku West District Director, Ghana Education Service, indicated that the directorate had considered the construction of a classroom block for the Kpantarigo JHS as one of its priorities, however, it was under the jurisdiction of the Assembly.
He said many schools in the district had furniture challenges and called on organisations to help to address the challenge.
Mr Issahaku Tahiru, the District Chief Executive for the area noted that the Assembly was aware of the situation of the school, but its resources were limited and appealed to residents of the district to help improve the educational standards of the area.
GNA