School buildings turned 'social vices' centres

School buildings in some communities in the Wenchi Municipality are being used by some youths in the area to engage in social vices due to the lack of security.

Mr Raphael Abadu, Head-teacher of the Awisa L/A Junior High School (JHS), told the Ghana News Agency on Monday that the classrooms did not have doors and the youth freely used them to engage in sexual activities, alcoholism and the use of hard drugs.

“The perpetrators also defecate in the classrooms and on the school compounds making teaching and learning very difficult the next day”.

Mr Abadu said the school authorities had made several complaints to the chiefs and elders for the past four years but nothing had changed.

He said several theft cases have also been recorded in the school involving the loss of many items kept at the offices.

The head-teacher appealed for support for the rehabilitation of the school so that adequate security could be provided to address the problem.

At the Methodist Primary at Awisa, around 0700 hours, pieces of cigarettes and other leaves believed to be Indian hemp were found at the premises.

The situation was not different at Amponsah-Krom L/A Primary and JHS as the classrooms including the uncompleted ones could be seen as being used as places of convenience.

When contacted, Mr Michael Kusi Wiredu, Wenchi Municipal Director of Education, said the situation in the schools was 'alarming' but gave the assurance that those perpetrators would be arrested.

He called on the chiefs and the people in the communities to form security task-forces to arrest the perpetrators.