Somanya Methodist JHS Pupils vacate Classes after debris fell on Pupil, Authorities call for Support

Somanya Methodist JHS in the Yilo Krobo Municipality is facing a serious infrastructural challenge.

The situation of the school which is a three stream school with about 250 pupils has become a dire one that requires an urgent attention.

Debris from the building recently fell on a form two pupil during a lesson. There was panic and most of the pupils ran out of the classrooms causing a resounding chaos throughout the school.

Even though there was no serious injury to the girl, the situation has heightened the fear of a possible collapse of the building.

To avert any disaster, the head teacher has asked teachers to hold classes under trees.
However, the adverse conditions of the weather, the open compound nature of the school and the lack of marker boards are hindering this interim plan, distracting teaching and learning.

The head teacher has made several calls on the authorities but nothing tangible has been done about the situation yet. He has even forwarded a letter to the Municipal Assembly to take up the discontinued project of a new two storey building block that has been left at the foundation level.

The TALU oil funded project which was started during the regime of the Mahama government has stalled since they were voted out of power in the year 2016.

The teachers also do not have a staff common room where they can sit and mark pupils exercises and also write their notes. They only have to do with a temporary pavilion which exposes them to adverse weather conditions. In recent times where the weather is very dry, windy and dusty, pupils and teachers are left at the mercy of the weather.

Also, there are no I. C. T, Science and Library facilities in the school. The school canteen has also not been spared the taste of neglect.

The old block which houses the final year students and the headteacher’s office has a leaking roof, dangerously hanging door frames and doors. There are large and visible cracks in the walls. One of the large halls in the block has already been abandoned due to fears of a possible collapse.

The other block on the opposite side of the year three block also holds the second and first year pupils. There are five classrooms in the block including a store room.

The dilapidated structure which is made of clay and has never seen any major renovation also has windows dangerously hanging with walls that have tilted out of the original angle of ninety degrees to the ground. It is barely being held in place by old clay pillars which do not have iron rods in them.

The ceilings in some of the classrooms hang loosely. One of the ceilings fell on a teacher during an English language lesson exploding dust and causing pandemonium. This has caused the removal of the entire ceiling in the classroom.

All these challenges not withstanding, Somanya Methodist JHS had performed well over the years at all levels. The school scored 93% in the 2016/17 BECE. This result puts the school at a third position in the municipality.

The head teacher, teachers, pupils and parents of this school are appealing to the State and any Organization or philanthropic Groups, be it corporate or NGO that may be touched by this story to kindly come to the aid of the school.

Compiled by:Godwin Akakpo-Ashiadey
Edited by :Ellis Ferdinand

Source:EducationGhana.net