Danger looms as pupils walk on collapsed bridge to school

The lives of over 2,000 pupils at Osedu Oduguan Primary and Junior High School (JHS) in the Agona East District of the Central Region are in danger.

This imminent danger, Today discovered, stems from the fact that school children who live in communities on the wrong side of the Osedu Oduguan Ayensu River have to cross a broken bridge to reach the other side where the school is located.

These communities are Kwasam, Osedu, Oduguan, Mankro-Kwanta and Agona-Mankrom, all in the Agona East District.

Probing further, this paper gathered that the children who could not walk on this perilous bridge swim twice a day across the river in order to get to the school.

And in order to keep their clothes and books from getting wet, they put them in large plastic bags and tightly sealed while crossing the river almost naked.

This development, Today learnt, has seen over one hundred and seventy-five (175) pupils from Osedu Oduguan Primary and Junior High School drop out of school.

According to some opinion leaders, the persistent failure on the part of the ministry of roads and transport and feeder roads to rehabilitate the bridge led to its collapse five years ago.

In addition, the school is also confronted by persistent absenteeism and truancy because dozens of the kids fear to lose their lives while walking on the collapsed bridge to school.

In an interview with the Assembly member for Manso Akwakwaa Electoral Area, Mr. Seth Arhin, whose jurisdiction is saddled with the above problem, he appealed to the central government to assist them in fixing the bridge to enable their young kids have access to education.

The Chief of Agona Akwakwa, Nana Afriyie Akwah, who spoke to our reporter, equally pleaded with government to make available some canoes which will ferry the children to school on daily basis.

This, he explained, could be short-term measure while a lasting solution is found to the problem.

Some of the teachers who also spoke to the paper on condition of anonymity lamented that the situation was having an adverse impact on academic work in the school.

According to them, the lack of a footbridge over the Osedu Oduguan Ayensu River has reduced the standard of education in the community and affected both the pupils and the teachers.