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The Plight of Kindergarten Pupils in Naapaal, Nandom Municipality

Feature Article The Plight of Kindergarten Pupils in Naapaal, Nandom Municipality
DEC 31, 2021 LISTEN

As I sat back to reflect solemnly on the ending year and the birth of my Lord Jesus Christ, something struck me as my memory switched to the needy in society, orphans, the poor, the vulnerable among others.

I picked my phone, scrolled through pictures I took during my usual rounds in the Nandom municipality. A sight of one of the pictures I took pushed me to start writing this article. Indeed, this certainly is my last article of the year ending 2021. It is heart touching. I believe strongly that the new year coming 2022 will resolve this problem.

Some time in December 2021, I was at Naapaal on my assignment. While I waited for some people at the community’s church, I saw about twenty-five (25) children playing in an open space. Some of those children were in school uniforms. I asked some of them who were playing football whether or not they were students. They responded affirmatively. The next thing that came to mind was the school. So, I asked where their school was situated; they could not direct me. But by then I sighted an open space under a tree that appears to be a learning place. I did not want to believe that in this 21st century Nandom Municipal could still have pupils sitting under trees to study.

I was propelled by the sight of that open space to ask for their teacher. To my surprise, a lady came up to me. I asked her whether she was the teacher of the children I saw, she said yes. I quickly asked for the classroom block and she pointed to the direction I suspected to represent their class. We both walked to the place and to my astonishment the space I thought of was actually the classroom for those children.

What was more intriguing and worrying was the seats they sit on. I saw chopped-logs arranged in an amazing way. So, I asked the teacher how the children sit to learn. Soon it was breakover and the pupils were in class, seated on those chopped-logs and the teacher was teaching them letters of the alphabets.

Their chalk board was a tourist attraction. It was a plywood that was lean against the tree with inscription of the letters of the alphabets.

It is therefore not surprising that Nandom Municipality continues to rank last and last but second in the BECE performance for several years respectively.

Our elders do say that one life educated has the potency to transforming generations. Looking at the condition of these children, how do we expect them to be the future leaders we have been sloganeering? I sincerely do not know the effort GES made in this regard but I was reliably informed that the Nandom education directorate had donated some items to the school.

The future of these children cannot be considered to be promising. I therefore wish to use this opportunity to call on all stakeholders, NGOs, politicians and other philanthropists to help these children with a classroom block, furniture and other education materials to lighten up the future of these children. Our elders do say that the corn that will grow bigger starts from its germination.

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