body-container-line-1

GES to report on status of School for the Deaf over ejection notice

By Jasmine Arku/Graphic.com.gh/Ghana
Education GES to report on status of School for the Deaf over ejection notice
DEC 2, 2013 LISTEN

The Ministry of Education has tasked the Ghana Education Service to furnish it with a report on the status of the Mampong School for the Deaf, following an ejection notice served on it by the landlord over rent arrears.

The school, which is housed in rented premises at Mampong Akuapem in the Eastern region has been served with an ejection notice as a result of the authorities failure to pay a GH14,000 rent arrears.

A report on Myjoyonline http://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2013/December-2nd/school-for-the-deaf-to-close-down-over-ghc-14000-rent.php Monday morning said the landlord has threatened to forcibly eject the students if authorities fail to pay up the arrears by the end of this week.

Speaking on Accra-based Radio Gold, the Minister of Education, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyeman said her attention has been drawn to the situation and expressed concern for the safety of the hearing impaired students of the school.

She said the Ghana Education Service (GES) has been tasked to present a full report on the school.

“My attention was drawn over the weekend that the students are in a rented premise and negotiations are going on to buy the building from the owner,” the Minister said.

“I have asked the GES to give me a full report and as I sit here, my major concern is the safety of children and we will ensure that they are safe,” she added.

Prof Opoku-Agyeman further expressed worry over the need to house public schools in rented premises since this was not the first time an educational institution has been faced with possible ejection.

“I think we need to move beyond using rented premises if at all possible especially when the children have these kinds of challenges,” she lamented.

According to Myjoyonline, the school authorities have previously appealed to the Akuapem Chiefs to plead on their behalf for the landlord to allow them some more time to settle their indebtedness.

The 38-year-old school is under government subvention but funds to run the facility are hard to come by despite several petitions, according to the acting headmaster, Nathan Pecku.

With no bus, the students commute a distance of about two kilometers on daily basis between their classrooms and dormitories.

body-container-line