Wee smokers invade Swedru Methodist Basic School, turn classrooms into hideouts and public toilets — Headmistress 

Nana Efua Esaaba, Headmistress of Agona Swedru Methodist Basic School

Nana Efua Esaaba, Headmistress of Agona Swedru Methodist Basic School, has appealed to old students, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), advocacy groups and citizens of Agonaman to support the school with metal doors and burglar-proof windows to protect its classrooms from intruders.

She said the intervention would help prevent suspected wee smokers and other miscreants from breaking into the school and using the classrooms as hideouts and places of convenience.

According to the Headmistress, the intruders had destroyed all the wooden classroom doors, removed window louvre blades and defecated in some of the classrooms.

Nana Esaaba told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that when she assumed office in 2022, she was confronted with the unpleasant situation of finding human faeces on teachers' tables.

She said the situation had worsened over the years, adding that about a year after she took office, unknown persons cut electricity cables connected to high-tension poles near the school, plunging the school and its Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Centre into darkness.

The Headmistress said the suspects had also broken into her office and stolen government textbooks and other personal belongings, forcing her to permanently close one of the office windows to prevent further attacks.

She noted that louvre blades installed at the school's science laboratory, constructed by the Rotary Club, had also been removed by the miscreants.

Nana Esaaba said the timely intervention of some passers-by about two weeks ago prevented suspected wee smokers from removing roofing sheets from one of the school buildings.

She explained that reports on the incidents had been submitted to the Agona West Municipal Directorate of the Ghana Education Service (GES) for onward transmission to the Central Regional Office and the GES Headquarters in Accra, but the school was yet to receive assistance.

The Headmistress said, in an effort to protect the school’s property, she and her management team had engaged the services of a private security guard at their own expense, but the problem persisted.

She appealed to police patrol teams from the Agona West District and Divisional Commands to intensify day and night patrols around the school campus to deter criminal activities.

Nana Esaaba also appealed to the Agona West Municipal Assembly to support efforts to secure the school environment.

She further called for the provision of additional furniture for both teachers and pupils, citing an increase in the school’s population.

GNA