Rainstorm destroys local primary school

Ntabanu (Ash), April 1, GNA - A severe rainstorm that hit Ntabanu, a small farming community near Mfensi on Thursday completely razed down the local primary school building and destroyed properties and equipment worth over 120 million cedis.

Items destroyed included a solar energy panel installed about three months ago by the Non-Formal Education Division (NFED) of the Ministry of Education and Sports to enhance its night classes, 20 bags of cement donated by the Atwima-Nwabiagya district assembly for the renovation of the primary school, textbooks, stationery and other teaching and learning materials.

Mr Samuel Owusu-Nyamekye, headteacher of the school and Mallam Mohammed Malik, the unit committee chairman who led newsmen to inspect the disaster at Ntabanu, said, however, that there was no casualty. Mr Owusu-Nyamekye said all the 113 displaced pupils are at home pending an alternate arrangement for a temporary accommodation, adding that, "the school building is totally destroyed and that a new block would be required".

He said the nearest schools that the pupils could attend are sited at Ahwiaa and Akuapim, distances of more than 13 and 10 kilometres respectively.

Mallam Malik said the community is negotiating with the various churches to enable the pupils to use their premises as temporary classrooms.

He appealed to the district assembly, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), the Member of Parliament for the area, the Ghana Education Service (GES), individuals and organisations to immediately assist the community to put up a new school block.