Headmaster tells it bluntlyPrestea SHS tutors live in squalor… Compete with students in bathroom

Teachers are refusing posting to the  Prestea Senior High School  in the Western region while the resident tutors are also seeking transfer due to lack of  decent accommodation.

Mr. Joseph Quagraine, the Head master of the school, who revealed this at the speech and prize giving day of the school held at Prestea last Saturday, on the theme 'Education -The Best Tool for Development', said the tutors are virtually living in squalor and competing for space with students.  “This is one factor that has made it extremely difficult for us to attract and retain qualified teachers”, he said. 

He noted that though 13 tutors have been posted to the school to replace those who have gone on transfer, he does not believe they would stay for long, if the accommodation problem facing the school was not addressed.  The headmaster appealed to the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Hon. Francis Adu-Kwesi Blay to use his good offices to get proper accommodation for the tutors. 

Mr. Quagraine also expressed concern about parents who send their children who are academically good to schools outside the district instead of their own locality.  He was also not happy with the frequent power outages in the school, which is affecting few computers and other electrical gadgets.

According to the headmaster, encroachers are also on the verge of taking over the school land. Besides this problem, the school also lack portable water. He therefore appealed to the relevant authorities to offer them support.

The School prefect, Master Samuel Budu Larbi appealed to all stakeholders to come to the aid of the school so that they could also be counted as one of the well-endowed schools in the country.   “We still wait on you for your assistance, our school will persist with consistent determination to become what it deserves to be”, he said.

On his part, the Member of Parliament for the area, Hon. Francis Adu Kwesi Blay noted that the transformation that has characterized societies was a living testimony of how important education is in the life of the individual, families, societies and nations at large.

According to the MP, any positive impact on society, both in the past and present has its root in education, adding that 'education is an important tool for national development and cannot be over-emphasized'.

Hon. Blay continued that the extent of development we urgently require in our individual lives and in our collective welfare as a nation would never materialize if quality education was not given the needed attention. For that reason, the government has a part to play in ensuring that the right infrastructure such as science laboratories was well equipped to facilitate teaching and learning.