Demolition exercise in Tamale leave over 200 pupils under trees

Over 200 pupils of Al-Islahiyya Primary School in the Northern Region have been left without a classroom, following a joint demolition exercise by the Lands Commission and the Department of Town and Country Planning in Tamale.

The demolition exercise took place last week after the Lands Commission and the Department of Town and Country served notice to the school and other residents to vacate the area. The area have been earmarked for a redevelopment project.

Left with no blackboards and no classroom, authorities of the school now ask pupils to come to school each day to read their text books under trees and go home. Some veterans have also been affected by the demolishing exercise.

Assistant Headmistress of the school, Ali Wasilla, told Joy News they are left with no option than to let the children study under the trees after several appeals to both the Lands Commission and the Department of Town and Country Planning authorities, prior to the demolition, yielded no positive results.

Metropolitan Chief Executive of Tamale, Alhaji Haruna, on Friday 12th April said before the demolition exercise a joint committee of the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly and the Ghana Education Service met with the Department of Town and Country Planning and the Lands Commission to ensure that they provide an alternative place for the school in the area before the demolition.

However the two institutions ignored their appeals saying provisions were not made for a school under the redevelopment of the area.

Both the Department of Town and Country Planning and the Lands Commission when contacted denied knowledge of the demolition of the school.

Northern Regional correspondent, Hashmin Mohammed, reports that until alternative classrooms are found for the pupil of Al-Islahiyya Primary School, they will continue to come to school each day to read their text books under trees.