Damanko residents demand immediate commissioning of abandoned E-Block SHS project  

The residents of Damanko in the Nkwanta North District of the Oti Region are calling for the urgent commissioning of the long-stalled E-Block Community Day Senior High School, describing the situation as a painful setback to education and development in the area.

According to the community members, the prolonged delay has left families frustrated and disadvantaged, particularly parents who must now send their children to senior high schools outside the district at high financial and emotional cost.

The project, initiated during the previous administration of former President John Dramani Mahama, has remained non-operational since 2015 despite being largely completed.

They, however, appealed through the key authorities, including the District Chief Executive, Dordoe Kudjoe Isaiah, Member of Parliament John Kwabena Oti Bless, and the Ministry of Education.

Kwabena Vincent, the assemblyman for Damanko East, led the community's concerns, stated that the project was about 95 per cent complete before the change in government in 2016.

He argued that after eight years under the current NPP administration, the remaining 5% has still not been addressed in any meaningful way, leaving the community without the benefits the facility was meant to provide.

The assemblyman said the completion of the E-Block was not only an education priority but a practical intervention that would ease the burden on households.

“With a functioning school in the area, students would spend less time and money travelling or relocating, while parents would spare the added expenses of accommodation, transport, and upkeep in distant towns,” he added.

During a visit to the school facility, the Ghana News Agency found it standing but unused, years after construction reached near completion.

The empty classrooms and idle infrastructure, residents say, represent a lost opportunity for thousands of young people in the district who need access to secondary education closer to home.

Residents also believe the school could stimulate local development by creating jobs and attracting commerce.

They also anticipate employment opportunities for teachers and non-teaching staff, as well as increased business activity for food vendors, transport operators, stationery sellers, and other small enterprises that typically grow around an active school environment.

GNA