Pupils of Duose Basic School taken out of ‘class under trees’

Pupils of Duose Basic School in the Wa West District of the Upper West Region have been relieved of undergoing teaching and learning under trees, thanks to Fidelity Bank’s Orange Impact Initiative.

The Fidelity Bank Ghana, one of the largest private-owned Ghanaian banks, has constructed and handed over a fully furnished six-unit classroom block to Duose community.

Under its Orange Impact Initiative to mark the bank’s 15th anniversary, the Fidelity Bank earmarked 15 schools, including the Duose D/A Basic School, to benefit from customised facility and resource upgrades as part of its efforts to provide quality education infrastructure to deprived communities.

The newly-constructed six-unit classroom block, including an office space, was installed with solar-powered electricity to enhance the teaching and learning of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the school.

The classroom block would now house pupils of Basic One to Basic Six who, hitherto, received academic instructions under shades and trees.

The Headmaster of Duose D/A Basic School, Abubakari Mubarik expressed optimism that the intervention would help improve teaching and teaching in the community and also enhance the academic achievements of the pupils.

He said the intervention came timely to salvage them from closing school early due to bad weather conditions, especially as the rainy season has begun.

“Sometimes, the community members would even come and tell us that they see most of our teachers outside, [but, it is] because we don’t have classrooms, we have our classes under mango trees. When they come we explain to them, but they don’t always take it lightly on us, because they feel that we are not doing our work well,” he said.

He assured that the teachers would not have confrontations with the parents any longer as they now have conducive classrooms to carry out their teaching and learning activities.

Speaking at the ceremony to hand over the facility, the Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, Julian Kingsley Opuni, said education was the foundation block in building productive nations and that Fidelity Bank aimed to help improve access to formal education through the provision of infrastructure.

“As a bank, we are an integral part of the ecosystem that drives development. The challenges of the community in which you operate should be reflected in the way you operate. If the community develops, the bank develops,” he explained.

He urged the community members to ensure maintenance of the infrastructure to last its lifespan and benefit many children in terms of access to quality education.

The Wa West District Chief Executive (DCE), Vida Diorotey expressed appreciation to the Management of Fidelity Bank for the timely completion of the school's infrastructure to complement government’s efforts in providing school infrastructure.

She said the Wa West District was grappling with infrastructural challenges and commended the bank for the intervention while she called on other organisations to support the district with more infrastructures.

The intervention, which forms part of the bank’s social corporate responsibility (CSR), also saw the renovation of the Kindergarten (KG) block in the community.

Present at the ceremony included the Wa West District Director of Education, the Upper West Regional Commander, the chief of the community and significant others.