Pupils in Ada Basic Schools Sit on Stones

School children in some parts of the Ada West District in the Greater Accra Region continue to learn under hazardous and strictly uncomfortable conditions, contrary to regulations of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

This became manifest when officials from the District Assembly and the District Education Directorate visited some schools in the area as part of this year’s ” My First Day at School” program.

Stopping at the Kportitse Korpe D/A Basic School, it was stunning to see KG Two and Class One pupils sitting on pieces of broken cement blocks to learn. A few of the pupils brought kitchen stools from their homes while others who could not afford stools or find pieces of blocks to sit on simply sat on the floor.

In the upper primary, classes were overcrowded to the extent that pupils who sat at the back had to climb over pavilion walls to go out to attend to nature’s call.

The head teacher of the school, Joseph Amatey Alimo, who spoke about the infrastructural challenges of the school, said a 6-unit classroom Getfund project had been abandoned since 2012. He further disclosed that the staff’s numerical strength was further aggravated, following the recent transfer of four teachers from the school.

Kportitser Kope D/A school, which is about 15 kilometers from the District Capital, Sege, has a student population of over 300 pupils.

Though the DCE, Hon. Adzoteye Lawer Akrofi, last year gave an assurance that the school would be rehabilitated, THE PUBLISHER observed that this could not be true as the school was not captured in the Assembly’s Budget for this year.

In a remark, the District Director of Education, Cynthia Winifred Aku Gbadago, said she would convene a PTA meeting to deliberate on how parents and the directorate could address the challenges.

By: Daniel Akpaloo Nyorngmor