Teachers are plying over several kilometers through a dusty, deplorable, and rocky road on a daily basis from Combine, a suburb of Akosombo to Tsledom, a farming community in the Eastern Region to reach their school.
The teachers undertake the strenuous journey largely due to the absence of teachers’ accommodation in the deprived community living without electricity.
Vehicles scarcely ply this unmotorable dusty route except on market days where market activities necessitate vehicular transportation of persons and goods.
Even here, the transportation services end at Tortibo which marks the beginning of a bumpy mountainous road network to Tsledom.
Vehicles avoid going to the community through the rocky road and inhabitants of the community, including teachers have no option but continue the rest of the journey on foot to the mountainous community.
Teachers who are lucky to own bicycles, park at Tortibo and walk for an hour through an isolated footpath in the rocky mountains to the community to teach.
The headmaster of the school, David Kofi Teye said in an interview that the teachers were exhausted before they reach the classroom to teach.
“It is not easy because considering the road from Akosombo. At a point in time, you have to alight and do the rest on foot so that is what we do every day except on market days, even that one, they alight you at the junction and you have to walk for one hour before you get to the school.
“When school closes too you have to do same because there is no light at the village, most of us don’t want to sleep there so we come down every day after school,” narrated the school head.
Two weeks ago, a vehicle transporting school feeding foodstuffs to the community at night overturned on the bumpy road with residents called upon to physically convey the items on their heads to the village.
The situation takes a toll on the teachers. He said in exasperation, “It is very difficult because as a teacher, after taking that number of hours to walk before you get to the school you are tired and I don’t think you can deliver much but if perhaps we had light in the community you’d be compelled to sleep over here. You wake up and prepare before you get to the classroom and you have much energy to do the work.”
He, therefore, appealed to government, philanthropists and stakeholders to ensure that the roads are temporarily put in shape to enhance their transportation to the school.
Lack of accommodation facilities
With no houses for the teachers, they are forced to walk to and from school every day. Few years ago, female teachers who could not go through the ordeal every day, were forced to put up at the school’s library. Currently, one male teacher occupies the facility.
To address the problem, an Australia-based missionary and philanthropist, Madam Mercy Tetteh who has provided water facilities for the community, is currently putting up a bungalow for the teachers.
The project began two years ago is currently at the roofing level with works yet to be furthered on it.
A teacher, Richard Kwasi Okai was spotted arriving at school drenched in sweat after the lengthy walk. He told GhanaWeb that, “Since we lack accommodation here we’ve rented houses at Akosombo, that is a far town from here. That’s where we are now so every morning when you are coming you just have to walk from the place to this place.”
He appealed to government to facilitate the completion of the bungalow project and the provision of power to ensure that teachers stay in the community.
The situation, he added has resulted in regular back and bodily pains for the young tutors.
Lack of teachers
The headmaster also lamented that fewer teachers than required were currently teaching at the school. At the KG department for instance, Mr. David Kofi Teye said only one male teacher out of four required was teaching the pupils and requested female teachers be posted to the school to handle the KG department.
He added that only three teachers out of the required six were currently at the disposal of the school at the primary level with only one out of three required teaching at the JHS. “We need teachers for the various subject areas,” he appealed.
He fears that the situation may affect the school’s 100% pass rate in the BECE examinations.
Circuit Supervisor for Tsledom, Mr. Boafo Humphrey who admitted that he was aware of the challenges the teachers were going through, said the situation was defeating the Ghana Education Service’s idea to make teachers role models for pupils and students by living with them in the communities.
He said, “We are very aware of that [problem]. You see, the idea of GES and for that matter the government is teachers should be a role model to wherever they are posted and so when they are in the community with the people, the people learn from them and so we’d be happy if they stay in the community with the students.”
On the teacher challenges, he said the situation was not peculiar to Tsledom but a general problem facing several schools in the rural “middle belt’ of the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal.
He however added that teachers were being expected to be posted to the area within the next few weeks to address the shortfall.
