Ola Girls students unhappy with infrastructure
The students of OLA Senior High School (SHS) have expressed concern over the lack of facilities, which is gradually affecting effective teaching and learning in the school. They have, therefore, called on the government to help address the problem and to ensure smooth academic work.
According to the students, increase in student population due to the implementation of the four year SHS programme, without a corresponding increase in infrastructure, has been a major challenge confronting the school.
The Senior Prefect of the school, Grace Benni, who was speaking at the 57th speech and prize giving day at Ho over the weekend, noted that students have had to contend with eating in batches because of the small size of the dinning hall, which was affecting lesson periods.
Ms. Benni continued that due to inadequate beds in the dormitories, students were compelled to lie on their mattresses on the floor, which creates fear among them because of the likelihood of falling sick in the process.
The Senior Prefect appealed to the government to provide adequate beds that would help solve the problem. She said another problem facing the students was the inadequate equipment in the school's laboratories.
Ms. Benni pointed out that as if the problems of the school were not enough to create a major academic disaster, the computer laboratories also lacked modern computers for the study of Information Communication and Technology (ICT).
The Senior Prefect was, however, happy with the efforts of the teachers to ensure quality teaching and making the school one of the best in the country.
The Headmistress, Mrs. B. Afesi, on her part said the high level of discipline, coupled with the high level of Catholic religious principles being impacted on the students, was the secret behind the successes chalked by the school.
She stressed that such values were the foundations on which the school was built and would continue to blend academic performance and religious values on the students, to enable the school continue to achieve success.
Mrs. Afesi, however, was not pleased with the negative behaviour of some parents who unnecessarily interfered in the school activities by frequently asking for permission for their wards to participate in funerals and birthday celebrations, and advised them to change their attitudes.
She commended the active role being played by the Old Students Association of the school, which was major inspiration to the school administration. She also praised the Parent Teacher Association for supporting her administration.
The Bishop of the Ho Diocese of the Catholic Church, the Most Rev. Francis Lodonu called on the government to help strengthen relations between religious institutions in the country in order to make education more effective because government could not throw out religious bodies out of the educational system.
Bishop Lodonu also appealed to parents to live up to their parental responsibility and refrain from involving their children in social activities that were of no value to their development and cautioned parents not to spoil their wards whilst in school by giving them too much opportunities and gifts that they would not be in position to manage.