Pupils of Miremano M/A Primary School in the Jaman South Municipality of the Bono Region have classes in dilapidated structures due to the unavailability of classrooms.
With an enrollment of about 600 pupils, the school has two streams but pupils at the Primary B do not have befitting classrooms forcing them to use wooden structures as classrooms.
An unfortunate spectacle that greets any visitor to the school’s compound is the three different wooden structures with leaking roofing sheets, which have tilted to one side and are ready to fall at any moment that serves as classrooms for pupils in classes one to six.
Aside from the dilapidated structures and the glaring holes in roofs, some of the roofs have been ripped off whilst others await to be ripped off by the strong winds at any moment.
The infrastructural deficit is a result of an abandoned classroom block that was started in 2014 by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND) but the project has stalled with the contractor nowhere to be found.
A visit to the school by GhanaWeb on Monday, May 30, 2022, depicted the gloomy picture and bizarre conditions under which teaching and learning take place.
Another challenge confronting the school is inadequate furniture especially in the kindergarten block compelling pupils to either sit or lie on the bare floor during classes.
The Assembly Member for the Miremano Electoral Area, Yeboah K. Francis, in an interview with GhanaWeb bemoaned the current state of the school and called for the immediate completion of the project abandoned by the GETFUND for use by the pupils.
“As you can see, the structures being used as classrooms are not good at all. The structures are dilapidated, but we are using them because we don’t have any alternative. We are appealing to the Municipal Assembly to liaise with GETFUND to complete the abandoned project to promote effective teaching and learning.”
Asuako Julia, a parent, described the structures being used as classrooms as dangerous and a threat to the lives of both teachers and pupils.
Meanwhile, when GhanaWeb contacted the Municipal Chief Executive for Jaman South, Andrews Bediako via phone, he indicated that he has officially written to GETFUND on the issue and is optimistic that the contractor will be back to the site soon.
He, however, assured that the Municipal Assembly will be addressing the furniture deficit for the school in the coming days.
“I am aware of the situation at Miremano M/A Primary and I have written to GETFUND about the issue and I am sure the contractor will be back to complete the abandoned project so that the pupils can use it. As for the furniture, I can assure you that the Assembly has procured 3,000 desks with the first batch expected this week. I promise you that the school is on top of the distribution list.”
