Hohoe Presbyterian Basic School cries for help


Teachers and the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of the Hohoe Presbyterian Basic School have appealed for assistance from the government, non-governmental organisations and philanthropic individuals to put up a permanent school block to replace the old one that was destroyed in a rainstorm four years ago.

The roof, portions of the school’s buildings and teaching and learning materials were damaged four years ago after a severe windstorm and torrential rainfall in the area.

Over the period, the walls have been seriously damaged, forcing pupils and students from the kindergarten to the junior high school level to attend classes in makeshift wooden structures with a dusty floor.

Conducting this reporter round during a visit to the school, the headmaster of the school, Mr Mawufemor Buo, said the situation had made teaching and learning very difficult as the classrooms were so crammed with students such that the teachers could not move freely to have proper contact with them. Student enrolment

Mr Buo said this had forced some parents to withdraw their children from the school, resulting in a drop in student enrolment from 446 to 368 at the moment. He said portions of the structures which were without ceiling were exposed to the vagaries of the weather, with the roof generating excessive heat in the classrooms.

The headmaster said the school was one of the best in the Hohoe municipality, scoring 100 per cent in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the 2011 academic year and placing eighth in the 2012 academic year and 23rd out of the 102 schools the following year. Makeshift structures

Mr Buo said since the destruction of the building, the teachers had been making do with the makeshift structures which had made teaching and learning very difficult, with the condition getting worse during the rainy season. 

He has therefore called on benevolent organisations and individuals to come to their aid as soon as possible. 

When contacted, an official of the Hohoe Municipal Directorate of Education, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they were aware of the situation in the school, and that a report on that particular issue, in addition to that on other such distressed schools, was being considered by the assembly.

He said they had constructed nine new classroom blocks, with 10 under construction. 

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