“WE CAN’T CONTINUE LIKE THIS” — Toflokpo JHS Students Cry For Government Intervention.

GREATER ACCRA - Students of Toflokpo Junior High School in the Ada West District of the Greater Accra Region are appealing to the government and other stakeholders to urgently intervene in the challenges confronting the school. Students are currently learning under trees due to inadequate classroom facilities, a situation they say is affecting their concentration and academic performance.

Student predicaments -

Students say the situation becomes worse during rainy days, as lessons are sometimes disrupted or suspended. The students also complain that motorbikes and vehicles frequently pass through and near the school during lesson hours, creating noise and disturbing teaching and learning.

One of the students, Odum Abraham, intimated that the constant movement around the school makes it difficult for them to concentrate. He also raised concerns about the presence of animals and reptiles on the school premises. According to him, goats sometimes enter the classroom during lessons, while snakes have also been seen around the learning area. He said one student reportedly sustained a snake bite, while the rest of the students encountered snakes again during lessons last week.

The students also raised concerns about the condition of the school's toilet facility. They said the toilet, which was originally meant to serve the school, is now being used by both students and members of the surrounding community. According to them, the facility has deteriorated to the extent that they now consider it a death trap, raising concerns about the safety of students who use it.

Another student, Sebbie Saviour, said the school urgently needs more teachers, a library, a computer laboratory and adequate learning materials. “We need a library, a computer laboratory and adequate learning materials. We also need more teachers because the number of teachers we have is not enough. If these things are provided, it will help us to learn better and improve our academic performance,” he said.

The student body believe the challenges are contributing to their poor academic performance and could affect their future education if urgent action is not taken.

Appeal fall on deaf ears -

The Chairman of the School Management Committee of the school, Jonas Tetteh Sebbi, is also appealing to the government, NGOs, corporate organisations and individuals to support the construction of additional classroom blocks. Mr. Sebbi opined that the school has struggled with inadequate classrooms for about eight years, forcing some students to study under trees. He said the situation negatively affects teaching and learning, particularly when it rains.

“Some of the classes are being held under trees, and this is a worry because it affects learning. Sometimes when it rains, they have to close the school because the students cannot continue learning under the trees,” he said.

According to Mr. Sebbi said the community has raised the matter with the relevant authorities on several occasions, but the problem remains unresolved. He further alleged that attempts by the community to draw public attention to the school's challenges have sometimes been interpreted along political lines.

He remarked that the Assembly Member for the Toflokpo Electoral Area, Hon. Stephen Apaflo, had argued that discussions about community development issues in that manner amounted to discrimination against the NDC as a political party. Mr. Sebbi said the position had made it difficult for the community to freely raise concerns about the school's development challenges.

He also alleged that attempts to invite journalists to document the situation had sometimes been met with resistance from teachers and the headmistress, who, according to him, cited education policy as the reason for preventing the media from filming students studying under trees. These allegations have not been independently verified.

Shortage of classrooms -

Mr. Sebbi said the classroom shortage dates back several years. He explained that around 2016, work began on an additional classroom block, with the foundation laid, but the project was later abandoned. According to him, the School Management Committee was subsequently revived, and efforts were made to get the project completed.

In 2020, according to Mr. Sebbi, during the second term of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the community was informed of a provision for another classroom block. “We were very happy about it, but unfortunately, the project stopped. The engineer left the work, and when we asked what was happening, he told us that the issue was at the Assembly,” he said.

However the community later heard a discussion on Okorli FM involving the then Member of Parliament, Christian Corletey Otuteye, and the then District Chief Executive, Hon. Samson in a disagreements over the ownership of the project which the community rather believed to be a GETFund initiative and therefore thought the disagreement contributed to its abandonment.

The community had since written several letters to the District Education Office and the District Assembly according to Mr. Sebbi, appealing for urgent intervention though the original school block was constructed through community efforts before the Assembly later assisted with roofing.

Mr. Sebbi reveals that inadequate classrooms is gravely affecting both teachers and students alike though one of the school's halls has been divided into two classrooms using plywood to accommodate students. “Sometimes when you visit the school, you can see teachers on both sides teaching at the same time. The teaching on one side disturbs the students on the other side, making it difficult for them to concentrate effectively,” he said.

On student academic performance Mr. Sebbi established that the school has been doing poorly in the Basic Education Certificate Examination within the district and attributed the situation partly to the challenges confronting teaching and learning. He believes providing additional classroom blocks and the other needed facilities will create a more conducive learning environment and largely improve academic performance.

“Our children deserve a safe and conducive environment in which to learn. We cannot continue to allow them to study under trees or in overcrowded and poorly partitioned classrooms,” he said.

Mr. Sebbi is therefore appealing to the government, the Ada West District Assembly, GETFund, NGOs, corporate organisations and individuals to urgently intervene. The students are also calling for additional classroom blocks, more teachers, a library, a computer laboratory, adequate learning materials and a safe toilet facility.

They say they only want a safe and conducive environment where they can learn without fear, unnecessary distractions or discomfort.