It is often said that education is the key to success, but for the students of Obaakrowa D/A Basic School, that key may be hard to turn.
In Obaakrowa, a small farming community in the Ga South Municipality of the Greater Accra Region, children are forced to study under trees due to the lack of classroom infrastructure.
As the rainy season approaches, concerns are growing that their already fragile learning environment could be further disrupted.
At first glance, Obaakrowa D/A Basic School in the Ga South Municipality seems to have classroom blocks. But a closer look tells a different story
Roofs are in bad shape, as a result, students from JHS 1 to JHS 3 are now forced to study under trees, in the open air, exposed to the harsh elements.
Their dreams hang in the balance. Whiteboards and school bags lean against tree trunks. With no walls to shield them and no roof above, learning happens not in classrooms, but on wooden desks set in the dust.
“When the sun shines and you are writing, it becomes really hard. Sometimes you have to push your desk to find a better spot,” a student told Channel One News
More importantly, as the rainy season sweeps across the country, bringing life to farms and empty wells, it also threatens to wash away the dreams of children in Obaakrowa, a small farming community in the Greater Accra Region.
Here, beneath the open skies and the shade of ageing trees, Students gather daily to learn not in classrooms, but on wooden desks placed in the dust. But with the rains now upon them, their fragile learning environment is on the brink of collapse. Simply, when it rains, lessons stop. When the sun is too hot, concentration drops. Whichever way, students are worried.
Malaria, cold, fungal infections, and skin rashes are just a few of the health risks students face due to prolonged exposure to harsh weather.
Assembly Member for the area, Gilbert Kwame Afekpe, has expressed deep concern about the growing health implications, especially as the rains set in.
The concern is even greater for final-year students preparing for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). Their future rests on exams they must study for outdoors.
Assembly member for the area, Gilbert Kwame Afekpe, is urging authorities to intervene, pleading for the construction of additional classrooms and a new block for the JHS and primary departments.
“I am pleading to the government and relevant authorities to come to our aid and give us support,” he said.
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