By: Seraphine Nyuiemedi
Management of the reigning champion’s of Senior High Schools Renewable Energy challenge competition, Kpedze Senior High School (KPESCO) has appealed for infrastructure, to cater for its growing students and staff population.
The school currently lacks classrooms, dormitories, especially for the girls, and staff Bungalow to accommodate the increasing student population of 1, 200 and 131 staff.
The Headmaster of the School, Yram Kwame Gadotor says, “this is a major challenge to effective teaching and learning and has therefore appealed to the government and other relevant stakeholders to come to the aid of the school”.
He made the appeal when the Old Students Association of the School presented citations to the participants of the Senior High Schools Renewable Energy Challenge Competition.
Kpedze Senior High School located, in the Ho West District of the Volta Region won the 2022 Energy Commission’s Senior High Schools Renewable Energy Challenge.
The School won the competition with a Solar Dehydrator, designed to address issues related to post harvest losses of fruit and vegetables.
Despite the school being the champions of this year’s competition, it is not without challenges, major among them is infrastructure deficit.
KPESCO was established in 1962 at Kpedze in the Ho West District of the Volta Region. Apart from the past students who have provided some facilities, the school has not seen any significant infrastructure development for the past six decades of its existence.
Most structures are dilapidated and projects awarded have been abandoned by the Contractors.
Key among them is a biogas toilet facility, an administration block, the road network, 4 semi detached 8 units staff Bungalow and a fence project which all started since 2016. The roof of the school’s dining hall which also serves as an assembly hall leaks badly.
This compels authorities to halt activities whenever it is about to rain. The headmaster of KPESCO, Yram Kwame Gadotor appealed to the government to ensure that work resume on all abandoned projects to ease congestion at the school.
“Even though we have these successes we still have a lot of challenges facing us. We will be glad if the Public will come to our aid. Our dining hall which we use as assembly hall is 60 years and it’s leaking, we have just about 26 classrooms which is not enough for the over thousand students, our girls are suffering due to inadequate space in the dormitories” he said.
Chairman of the Old Students Association of the School, George Ofori said the Association took the initiative to appreciate the efforts of the participants and to encourage them to put in their maximum best in future endeavours to propel the school to a higher height. Mr Ofori urged students of the school to take their studies seriously to become useful citizens. He indicated the Association’s readiness to renovate and furnish the school’s library as well as the science laboratory. He called on all past students of the school to come on board to help realise its vision.
“We want to renovate the old library and restock it very well. The science lab too has some issues that we as past students are working on it. We will also support the teachers with their accommodation issues” he said.
Kpedze Senior High school will celebrate its 60th Anniversary in 2023.
