Pupils lie on bellies to learn, two classes study in 'death traps' at Bandei basic school

Correspondence from Upper West Region

Some school pupils learn while lying on their bellies with two other classes studying under "death traps" at Bandei basic school in the Sissala East Constituency.

The pupils in Kindergarten to primary 6 lie on their bellies to learn due to lack of furniture.

Two of the affected classes - five and six - are being faced with duo; lack of furniture and dilapidated structures which pose a serious threat to the lifes of the kids.

The Headteacher of the school, Bagon Issahaku, in an interview, expressed his concerns about the situation and said he feared for the future of the kids in such conditions.

"P1 up to P6 mostly when I enter the classroom I feel like weeping. So there are days I don't want to enter the classes because it's awful to enter a class and see everybody on the floor it's very bad because we don't have any furniture", he said.

He added that the Junior High School also has a shortage in furniture, and the pupils are mostly asked to bring their own furniture from home.

The weak structures, Mr Issahaku, said were being used by the Kindergarten classes, however, considering their ages and vulnerability, he had to swap them with the classes five and six pupils because "they're a bit matured at least they can protect themselves in case of anything".

He also said the situation has had a toll on their attendance because the pupils do not find the structures motivating to be coming to school.

He, however, stated that the school in collaboration with the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) has advanced plans to put up pavilions because "we have made several efforts to maintain the structures for use but still they are not even fit for animals to use".



Also, the Assemblyman for the area while expressing his unhappiness with both situations, told GhanaWeb's Araphat Dimah that he has made several follow-ups, particularly to the Municipal Assembly, for at least one of the issues to be addressed but he is yet to receive any significant feedback.

He said the two dilapidated structures were constructed by the community for almost a decade ago.

He also mentioned other schools including Jejen, Sentie and Sakalu Basic Schools were equally facing serious furniture deficits in his catchment area.

Meanwhile, the Municipal Chief Executive, Karim Nanyua has denied being formally informed about the situation but assured that some furniture would be sent to the school very soon.

On the two weak structures, the MCE told GhanaWeb that not much can be done for now but he said he would collaborate with the Assemblyman and the community to put up some temporary structures for the time being and, that he would think about a permanent solution for the school.