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| The state of the 121-year-old building before the reconstruction Watch the video via this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLVH07UUu1k&list=UU7ljxYzKiZJZYmrQI8c0nLA |
The
Presbyterian Junior High School at Odumase-Krobo faces imminent closure if
urgent measures are not put in place to rehabilitate the crumbling school
building after 121 years of neglect.
The
dilapidated structure does not only pose a danger to the lives of the students
and their teachers but does not also provide a conducive environment for
efficient academic work.
Parts
of the roof of the original four-classroom block keep flying in all directions
anytime it rains, to the extent that one stream of three classes has been
affected and the students are putting up in a renovated primary school black,
creating discomfort for the pupils and the children in the primary school.
Already,
one life has been lost and three other students sustained various degrees of
injury during a rainstorm last year, compelling the teachers to issue threat of
deserting their post for safety.
Narrating
the incident that led to the death of one of the students, the Headmaster of
the school, Nene Seth Ayertey, told the Daily Graphic that at about 2;30 p.m on
Wednesday December 3, 2008, a severe storm hit the school, ripped off part of
the roof and instantly killed a 13-year-old- primary class six boy.
According
to him, three other students, who together with the deceased were running to
seek shelter under the roof, sustained various degrees of injury and were
rushed to the Atua Government Hospital for treatment. The deceased, Bernard Narteh,
has since been buried.
Nene
Ayertey said ever since the incident, the school had been hit by several of
such storms anytime it rained, the last of which was on Friday, April 24, 2009,
adding that “the school was spared the worst for of the disaster because
classes were not in session when the
roof fell right on the assembly ground.
He
wondered why the authorities concerned should neglect the school to that level.
Asked
whether the attention of the authorities had been drawn to the plight of the
school, the headmaster said all the major stakeholders including the Lower
Manya Krobo District Assembly (LMKDA), the Ghana Education Service (GES),
Presby Regional Education Unit, Koforidua, Presby Education Foundation and the
Dangme-Tongu Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana has been notified,
as far back as December 2008.
He
indicated that institutions such as the National Disaster Management
Organisation and Ghana Cement (GHACEM) were also served letters to extend their
aid to the school but none of them had responded.
Nene
Ayertey blamed the woes of the school on the district assembly, the church and
the GES.
Commenting
on the issue, the immediate past Chief Executive of the District, Mr. David
Sackitey Asare, who was in office at the time, explained that the assembly
could not offer any assistance because it was financially handicapped.
On
his part, The District Minister in charge of the Zimmermann Congregation of the
Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rev. Samuel Atter Odjelua, who doubles as the
local manager of the school, intimated that the church was looking for funds to
build a three unit classroom block for the primary section.
He
stated that the church would be compelled to organize itself to make an input
if quick response were received from other stakeholders and challenged the
Parent-Teacher Association of the school to be up and doing.
The
PTA Chairman, Mr. Asare Mate-Kodjo, denied claims that the PTA had not been up
to the task and said it could not help the situation because of lack of funds
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| The first story that changed the fortunes of the school |
Published: May 7, 2009, Daily Graphic (Back pg)
Watch the video via this link:
Watch the video via this link:
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