Teachers and students of Nubeso Junior High school (JHS) at Nubeso-Achiansa, a farming community in the Ayensuano District in the Eastern Region of Ghana, are appealing to government to provide them with logistics to enhance quality education.
According to authorities of Nubeso JHS , the obligation of the state to ensure their right to education is being undermined.
Atinka News’ reporter and mentee under the Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) project , Ishmael Atiemo, who visited the school, said the only JHS in Nubeso had invented odd innovations for teaching and learning.
Final year students of Nubeso Junior High school (JHS) are currently attending classes under a shed, which was provided by the community.
According to Authorities of the school, the building that was used as a classroom for the JHS form three students was demolished on the command of the District Chief Executive of the Ayensuano District, Florence Govina.
The order for the demolition of the school came in November 2020 when the country was gearing up for Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
After the demolition, the teachers and students resorted to sitting in an open space for teaching and learning.
Later the open space became a cocoa bean drying place for the town folks.
The chief and elders of the community upon seeing the stress the teachers and students to go through to access education mounted a shed for them.
Mr. Dzabanor Richard Pinto, who is a teacher in the school told Atinka News that teaching and learning under the shed is a worry for them but they had no choice than to make use of it.
He said any day it rains; they are compelled to spread gravel on the un-cemented floor to allow the student to sit in the mud to learn.
The teachers have also resorted to sitting under a shed due to the lack of staff common room.
Head teacher of the school, Mr. Ocloo Gilbert speaking to this reporter said, the school that was established in 1960 has a population of 86 but has only 16 sitting desks.
“Some of the students sit on cement blocks due to lack of desks,” he said.
Mr. Ocloo also revealed that the school which teaches 24 subjects, has only two teachers instead of seven.
The student currently does not take classes on Social Studies and Ghanaian language due to lack of teachers.
Mr. Ocloo Gilbert, who doubles as the the head teacher and ICT teacher, said the school also lacked teachers.
Mr. Ocloo revealed that the school has only one computer, which was donated by old students of the school who completed in 2020.
The Nubeso JHS school currently has no text books for teaching and learning. This according to the headmaster, has resulted in the usage of online materials by the teachers.
When Atinka News’ reporter, Ishmael Atiemo, contacted Madam Florence Govina, the District Chief Executive for Ayensuano District, she disputed the allegation that she ordered the demolition of Nubeso JHS’s classroom block..
She said a construction firm called DK construction demolished the building after it was awarded a contract by the Government of Ghana to construct a befitting classroom block for the school.
When contacted for their side of the story, DK Construction Limited, said government had failed to provide them with funds to commence the project.
Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for the Ayensuano constituency, Teddy Safori Addi, says he is waiting for the president to elect a new District Chief Executive so he can access the common fund to support the school.
Atinka News and Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) will do regular follow-ups to ensure the school gets what it takes to have quality education
