Kindergarten school children at Gbache, a community in the Wa West District of the Upper West Region, attend classes under Shea trees due to the absence of classroom block.
The school has no classrooms, learning materials, including texts books, ICT laboratory, among other, denying the pupils the conducive environment for their studies.
A visit by the Ghanaian Times saw the children sitting on benches under trees used for their academic activities.
A parent, Mr Bantaaa Togsun, expressed frustration about the health risks posed to the children saying it was negatively affecting their children’s education and health.
“Our children are always exposed to the weather in both the rainy and harmattan seasons, their health is at risk because of the harsh conditions they face every day, we need the authorities to come to our aid’’, he appealed.
He also appealed to the government and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) to assist the community by providing a proper classroom facility in order to improve the learning environment.
The Chairman of the School Management Committee (SMC), Mr Bantaa Togsun, said enrolment in the school had reduced drastically due to the lack of classrooms.
He noted that classes were often cut short whenever it threatens to rain, disrupting the learning process and reducing valuable teaching hours.
Mr Togsun stated that the lack of classroom facilities and other learning materials were affecting the children’s education, hence the need for authorities to help provide facilities for them.
The Assembly Member for the area, Mr Ayila Yelsung, highlighted the impact of the poor infrastructure on school attendance, stressing that many children aged between 3 and 4 years, who should be in school, were not attending classes due to the lack of a proper learning structure.
“Sitting under trees to learn is discouraging children from going to school regularly, proper classroom will help motivate them to attend school and improve their learning experience,” he noted.
He emphasised that many schools in the area had no furniture and classroom, calling on the government and organisations to help address the challenge.
Mr Yelsung again indicated that many appeals had been sent to the Wa West District Assembly through written letters but all efforts proved futile.
Parents and community members are hopeful that their appeal would reach the right authorities and that urgent action would be taken to provide a safe and comfortable learning environment for the children of Gbache.
FROM RAFIA ABDUL RAZAK, GBACHE
