Academic activities at the Brofoyedru and Apantubuom communities in the Bosome-Freho District of the Ashanti Region have been hampered due to the deterioration of classroom blocks.
For almost eight years, the situation had lingered on in the two farming communities, to the disadvantage of the academic work of pupils.
At Brofoyedru, the Kindergarten (KG) block for the D/A Basic School, constructed some five decades ago, had almost collapsed.
“The structure is no longer fit for purpose,” Mr Lot Adu Asabere, the Assembly Member for Yapeso, said in an interview.
He said for eight consecutive years, the pupils had been using some church premises as makeshift classrooms.
“This had, consequently, come with its own challenges,” he noted, citing the inconveniences the pupils and teachers had to go through with threats of eviction by the churches, as well as absenteeism and lack of washrooms as some of the challenges.
Mr Asabere said currently the leadership of the Brofoyedru Roman Catholic Church, being used by the pupils as makeshift structure, had served notice to the teachers to relocate as soon as possible.
“Our decision would be to ask the children to stay at home until a remedy is found, if the church should carry out the threats,” he said.
Mr Asabere said they had appealed to the Bosome-Freho District Assembly but the authorities were yet to respond.
Currently, there are more than 60 pupils enrolled at the KG One and Two.
Meanwhile, education at the lower primary of the Apantubuom R/C Basic School is also being hampered due to the poor nature of the classrooms.
A visit to the school indicated a deteriorated structure and weakened roofing of the KG, Basic One, Two and Three, making it difficult to conduct any meaningful academic activity.
“The school is collapsing and so teachers posted here refuse to report to duty,” Mr Asabere, who plays a supervisory role over the community, said.
What had worsened the situation, he said, was the withdrawal of pupils by the parents, who wanted better options for their children.
Nana Ama Serwaa, the Queen mother of Apantubuom, reacting to the issue, said it was unfortunate the community was facing that problem.
The nearest school, located at Asiwa, the district capital, was about seven miles from the community, she said, and that was making it difficult for pupils who had relocated to attend classes regularly.
She said it was time the nation took access to basic education seriously for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals relating to basic education.
