Headmaster closes down dilapidated school for fear of collapse

About 200 pupils of Gomoa Techiman D/A Primary are likely to sent home in two weeks' time if nothing is done about structure in which they take lessons.

The head teacher of the school says the building is clearly a disaster waiting to happen and has therefore given authorities two weeks to do something or he will be forced to close the school down.

According to John Kweku Amoh, government's help is urgently needed if a disaster is to be averted.

The dilapidated school building was constructed during the independence era and currently accommodates close to 200 pupils with the lower class of Kindergarten 1-2 being the worst affected.

“The building is in a terrible condition and can cave in at any time especially classes 1 and 3 are in a terrible condition.

“When it rains we get scared and the children cannot learn. When the weather becomes cloudy, I either have to close the pupils in KG or let them join those in class one because I am afraid of what will happen,” the head teacher said.

According to him, he has been innovative in managing to teach in such a structure.

He said several appeals have been made to the Ghana Education Service (GES) at the district level as well as the district assembly but all have fallen on deaf ears.

Mr Amoh told Joy News’ Central regional correspondent Richard Kwadwo Nyarko that together with some chiefs and elders of the town, the school’s management committee travelled to Apam to meet with the District Chief Executive (DCE) who promised them a new school block. But that has not been done.

The head teacher fears the worst might happen as the building hangs by a thread.

Related: 2 more children die in school building collapse; death toll 6

In January this year, six pupils of the Breman Jamera Methodist School in the Odoben Brakwa District of the Central Region were killed after their school building collapsed on them.

The about 70 pupils, aged four and five were about to settle for studies when the building collapsed. Many others who sustained varying degrees of injury are receiving treatment at the Breman Asikuma Hospital.

According to school authorities, the block in question had developed cracks and several appeals for the defects to be fixed were not adhered to.

One of the teachers told Joy News the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) had been informed about the development but nothing was done.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Abubakar Ibrahim |[email protected]