Teachers cook to attract pupils to school in Wa West

Teachers at the Kongolomo Kindergarten in the Wa West District of the Upper West Region, have taken up the task of cooking with their personal resources to attract pupils to the school.

Headmistress of the school, Madam Mahamud Mueita, told TV3 that the community also contribute food sometimes to be cooked for the children in order to prevent them from walking long distances to other schools where food is available.

The Kongolomo Kindergarten was opened in 2013 as part of government's effort to make basic education accessible to all children.

But the rural school is yet to be covered by the National School Feeding Programme which has in recent times suffered some financing setbacks despite its expansion to cover more schools .

Prior to the opening, children below five years were left at home because they could not walk for long distances to attend school elsewhere.

The school currently has a population of only 150 children because it is yet to be connected to the National School Feeding programme.

As a result, enrolment has reduced as some of the pupils who are older, trek to other nearby village schools which are covered under the feeding programme.

By so doing; the younger ones are forced to stay at home.

According to the headmistress, Madam Mahamud Mueita, there are many pupils in the community who have not been brought to school due to the lack of feeding.

The teachers have now run out of cash to provide for the children while the Parent Teacher Association, PTA, is equally unable to assist.

She said the community has put up a structure meant for the primary one and two where the KG pupils will graduate to next term but the project has been halted due to lack of funding.

The Wa West District at the moment has about 86 schools still under trees.

The District Assembly has given out some school uniforms to some needy children, and has also donated waste bins and some street lamps to the school and the community to help improve security at night.

The Wa West District Chief Executive, Adamu Dassana, told TV3 government is committed in its social intervention programmes despite the challenges it is faced with.

He thus called on community members to support government's effort.