Dangerous Reptiles Takes Over Dilapidated Akyem Akyekrom Basic School 

Akyem Akyekrom primary and Junior High School (JHS) school in the Akyemansa district of the Eastern region of Ghana is gradually sinking into the ground, taking away the pride of education from children in the community.

The residents narrated that the students in and other communities are discouraged and do not find it necessary and exciting to return to the dilapidated structure as the school has become a habitat for goats, weeds, lizards, snakes, and other dangerous reptiles.

The school structure needs urgent rehabilitation to avoid any disaster as parts of the roof have been ripped off with some pieces hanging, the termites have also destroyed the wood poles and now hanging.

The situation in the basic school can be described as a trap to hell, due to the fact that the school needs everything before it can be referred to as a school, such as a classroom to accommodates both the primary and the JHS, desks, textbooks, teachers and other teaching and learning materials.

The Akyem Akyekrom Primary and Junior High School until the coronavirus pandemic has a population of about 600 to 700 pupils and has now become a death trap.

Adding that the dangerous reptiles find the structure very safe to hide as cracks have developed on the walls of the building and continues to open up further while wooden pillars supporting the building have become weak due to termites.

Residents of Akyem Akyekrom explained, that parents prevent their kids from attending classes due to the state of the school, they stressed.

“The situation is very disturbing and so pathetic. The poor condition of the school is affecting teaching and learning in the school. "We are calling on government, NGOs, and stakeholders to come to our before reopening of Schools by the government”.

Akyekrom Mbrantehene, Dacosta Kwasi Abrokwa explained that students are forced to learn in the deathtrap school due to government failure to complete abandoned classroom blocks.

 He added that the school had no desk and other educational materials to enhance teaching and learning, adding, pupils had to sit on stones and wood logs to learn. “Mbrantehene” lamented the school usually shut down any time it threatened to rain, thus, impacting negatively on academics works in the school.

William Ofori Akwaboa, Eastern Regional Correspondent