By Michael Kofi Kenetey
The people of Kwesi Diaka in the Akyeremanteng Electoral Area in the Okere District of the Eastern Region have made a passionate appeal to the government through the DCE of Okere District Assembly, Kenneth Addo and the Member of Parliament for Okere Constituency, Dan Kwaku Botwe to help construct their classroom block which is in a deplorable state.
Kwesi Diaka D/A Basic School in the Akyeremanteng Electoral Area, is in the Okere District of the Eastern Region. With a student enrolment of 200, it was established in 2008 through the effort of Community members and absorbed in 2014 by the government. The Community members erected a structure, which serves as a classroom for the pupils however, since its establishment and absorption, the school has not seen any major rehabilitation. The roof of the Basic four and five classrooms were ripped-off October 2021, during a rainstorm which has since not yet been replaced. This has compelled the school authorities to combine the KG one and two as well as Basic two and three in order to make room for the basic four and five Pupils. That aside, the school structure has developed cracks while the floor of the classrooms are not cemented making the rooms dusty. Due to the deplorable nature of the structure, the authorities are compelled to close classes, whenever it is about to rain, because some of the roof leaks badly and classes cannot continue under such conditions.
This has led to the depreciation in the performance of the school in the Basic Education Certificate Examination, BECE. For instance, the 2018 badge, which was the first badge of the school, recorded 94.6% in the BECE, which depreciated to 64 % in 2019 and further to 36.4% in 2020. In an interview with the Assemblyman for the Area, Maxwell Baah, during a visit to the school, he called on government, philanthropists and benevolent organizations to as a matter of urgency, help build a new classroom block for the school. He further appealed for the construction of an ICT Lab and washrooms for both teachers and pupils in the school to enhance effective teaching and learning.
The school again, has no canteen and kitchen but rather, a bamboo structure, which serves as the kitchen where the matron of the School Feeding Programme prepares meals for the pupils. The Chairman of the School Management Committee, Lawrence Addo, therefore appealed for the construction of a proper kitchen and a canteen for the school. He noted that the lack of proper infrastructure in the school makes some teachers unwilling to stay whenever they are posted to the school. Some of the pupils expressed their plight to the news team.
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