Pupils abandon school over GHC 1 tuition fee

Hope for some change through government intervention is what drives the people of Mangyea, a farming community in the Jomoro District of the Western Region, who have had to live their lives in abject poverty.

The community lacks several basic amenities and its people are distressed as a result. Education, one fundamental factor in enhancing the quality of human life and ensuring socio-economic progress is lacking in this community.

Pupils have had to abandon classes because their parents cannot afford to pay as low as GHC1.00 as tuition fee.

In one instance, a missionary who decided to invest in the education of the children in the community, being dissuaded by the inability of the parents to cover the children’s tuition fees, was compelled to leave after two years.

In another instance, a teacher posted to the community by the District Director of Education in the area deserted the school shortly after he was sent there because of the conditions there.

The Chief of the community bemoaning the situation said his community has been neglected by successive governments in areas of basic amenities particularly schools, leaving students with the burden of having to walk several miles to gain access to the nearest school available.

“What hurts me is the three and a half miles journey children in this community have to cover until they get to school at Benyin, the next available town,” he said.

The situation is such that only children above six years old have been given approval by authorities in the community to go to school because of the danger of having to cross a river; the Amansuri River to school.

The chief also cited roads and electricity as areas that have been neglected by authorities. The unavailability of potable water in the community he explained, has exposed inhabitants of the community to several health risks.

Video credit: GH One TV