Alezuma basic school abandoned; five Afram Plains communities in despair

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 4 looks gloomy as the fate of children in five communities in the Afram Plains South district of the Eastern Region goes up in despair.

An abandoned Basic school block in Alezuma has forced pupils to study under trees.

The Sustainable Development Goal 4, seeks to ensure that by the year 2030, all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning to relevant and effective outcomes.

Target indicator 4.1 of the goal also seeks to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. But the situation in Alezuma and other parts of the country could militate against the achievement of this goal.

The school which is 10km away from Maamekrobo serves the basic education needs of towns such as Abotan, Apapa, Kakakui and Tuwuhufo. The School which has a population of 100 and a teaching staff of 4, was started by the former MP of the area, Mr. Joseph Appiah Boateng in 2014.

The project which would have brought some relief to the people of Alezuma and its neighboring towns was halted due to poor structural engineering work and the school block has since been abandoned.

The school which has pupils from kindergarten to Primary 6 currently has no structure serving as classrooms and pupils together with their teachers take shade under trees for teaching and learning activities.

Residents of the town say efforts to contact the assembly to help the situation have proved futile. They add that the development has resulted in a lot of absenteeism during rainy seasons. Same story is told when the sun is up as Pupils together with their teachers have to abandon classes and take cover.

They further stated that in most cases, school in Alezuma close before 12 pm to avoid the scorching sun. The situation in Alezuma compounds predicaments of teachers each day as they are left with no option than to commute in most cases on foot from Maamekrobo to school.



The headmaster of the school, Mr. Elijah Fordjour describes the situation as terrible, further stating that the situation is a challenge that has an enormous affect on teaching and learning.

According to him the district education unit only supplies teaching and learning material sometimes but little is done to help the school get a decent classroom block.

A report by the Secretary-General of the United Nations on the "Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals" indicates that, the lack of trained teachers and the poor condition of schools in many parts of the world are jeopardizing prospects for quality education for all.

According to the report, Sub -Saharan Africa has a relatively low percentage of trained teachers in pre -primary, primary and secondary education (44 per cent, 74 per cent and 55 per cent, respectively). Moreover, the majority of schools in the region do not have access to electricity or potable water.

This report reflect the story of Alezuma and many other places in Ghana and the world at large.

Residents of the community are however appealing for support to put up a new building or rectify the defect in the old structure.