Ghana has a rich culture which is shaped to perfect by the introduction of formal education. Currently the country has one of the best if not the best of all educational curriculum in the whole of Africa and could even secure acomodation on the international billboard.
Meanwhile there are some few challenges encountered by the country’s educational system —some which could be attributed to inadequate teachers, inadequate teaching resources, inadequate classroom blocks among others.
A situation on the grounds now has to do with Sabronum-Nyamebekyere D/A Primary school, where only one teacher is covering all classes at the moment. Meanwhile there is inadequate classroom block and this caught the attention of the community members to put up a mud structure which is currently in a dilapidated state.
The only teacher currently present at the school is Adelaide Benewaa Adusei. Once she is attending to a particular class, all other classes would have to wait until the period is over. The only time she has to rest is when it is break time.
ESTABLISHMENT
The school, Sabronum-Nyamebekyere D/A Primary was set up by Mad. Adelaide Benewaa Adusei, the only teacher present. According to her she had to set up the school due to the long distance the wards had to walk before attending school at other communities.
“I decided to set up the school after I saw the difficulty the students were going through before getting to school in other areas”.
POSTING
She was posted by the Ghana Education Service (GES) to a school in a different community but closer to Sabronum-Nyamebekyere, where she stayed. She started the school as a private institutions.
Meanwhile the government intervened in 2019 and the school had to become a public institution. But there hasn’t being any posted facilitator to supplement her in the teaching and learning process ever since the the government took possession.
CLASSES
Since the GES reposted her to Sabronum-Nyamebekyere D/A Primary, she now takes care of five classes at the same time.
She said that she had to organize some members of the class to lead an activity as they wait for their lesson period.
DIFFICULTIES
1. The mud structure is in deterioration and this contributes to the unfortunate closure of school whenever there is rain-pour.
2. The entire community has one toilet which is also used by these students and this is not helping to promote the teaching and learning process as Students might take longer time to ease themselves before returning for lessons.
3. Snakes and other harmful animals use to visit the classrooms and this scare of a lot of the students.
4. That notwithstanding, she has to close the school anytime there is a meeting to attend;
a. “Sometimes, teaching becomes very difficult when there is an official meeting going on at the district level. In that case, I would have to close the kids and attend the meeting or at times I become late for the meeting. Sometimes when I am sick, teaching becomes difficult because I am not able to help the children to learn.”
b. “When that happens, I just have to sit down in class or absent myself and ask the children not to come to school at all. Also, as the only teacher and the substantive headteacher here, I don’t have textbooks to help me carry out my work. Our classroom block is a mud structure. Sometimes we find snakes in between some walls due to cracks that have developed in them”.
INTERVENTION
Mr. Michael Anabiga had promised to employ another person to supplement Mad. Adelaide in the teaching and learning process. Mr. Michael is the Assembly member of the area.
“As an assembly member, I decided to engage the services of two other persons to teach to assist the only teacher especially when she is absent. Not long ago after the COVID-19 outbreak, one of them gained admission into the university, so he left,” he said.
He also stated that, “… the other person also was admitted into a tertiary institution. He would be leaving at the end of this month. On this note, we are appealing to the government to come in to assist us. Not only the government, non-governmental organizations or private individuals who have the zeal to help should kindly intervene”.
