Blackouts affecting final-year students

The rampant blackouts in most parts of the country are hampering preparations by final-year students in both junior and senior high schools for their upcoming external examinations.

Currently most candidates are feverishly preparing for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the Basic Education Certificate Examination(BECE). While the WASSCE has began, the BECE starts in June.

The frequent power cuts are however posing a serious challenge to the students who study mostly at night.

In view of this, the students have had to manage with rechargeable lamps, lanterns and in some cases candles.

In some schools in Accra, JHS and SHS students have lamented about the frequent power cuts. They say the power cuts is making it very difficult for them to have their prep in the evening or science practicals during the day.

A student of the St Margaret Mary SHS, Laud Kpodo said the constant power cuts were denying them the opportunity to study, particularly when the final examination was a few weeks away.

“Usually, we try to stay up throughout the night to study. However, these days we hardly do that due to the load shedding exercise. In the day time, we have to attend classes so it is usually at night that we do some revision work, but this is gradually becoming extremely difficult," he said.

Esinam Agbo, a BECE candidate, also complained bitterly about the situation and said sometimes she is forced to sit behind the wall of a neighbour who uses a generator when the lights go off to be able to do her homework.

“The problem of the lights going off is so intense at Madina. We have had to sleep in the dark for three whole days at a time. The only option now is to fall on our neighbour’s generator. Actually, studying that way is very difficult because of the loud noise it makes, as well as the smoke it emits, but we have no choice” she said.

The situation is no different in the Brong Ahafo region, where Tetteh Kojo-Sarso of the St James SHS/Seminary in Sunyani said “whenever the lights go off, every student has to go to bed because we are not allowed to use rechargeable lamps, torchlight or candles to study. So now, we need to make the best use of the day to catch up”.