Blame government for recent SHS deaths - Minority

The Minority in Parliament has blamed government for the recent health crisis in some senior high schools.

Health complications have led to the death of some students with others being hospitalized.

An outbreak of Meningitis, a condition that thrives in congested and poorly ventilated places, has been recorded at the Koforidua Secondary school with one person dying from the disease. One more person is reported to have died of the disease at Damango SHS in the Northern region.

Also, over 22 students of the St. Martins Senior High school in the Eastern region collapsed recently sending panic waves across the region in the wake of the H1N1 influenza outbreak at the Kumasi Academy where four students have died so far.

Although health officials say the situation is under control, the minority fears the worst could happen soon due to the overcrowding in some schools.

Speaking to Starr News’ Parliamentary Correspondent Ibrahim Alhassan, the NDC MP for KEEA Samuel Atta Mills, bemoaned the congestion in Senior High Schools across the country, saying “it is too much and you go out there and ten students are sharing one room…that is not fair.”

Citing schools in his constituency, he said they are so congested that fresh air does not follow in and out and this is what creates all kinds of bacteria stating “anything at all could grow in any of these things and since they don’t have enough fresh air and there is so much congestions, a cough alone could be spread out to so many other places…so we need to make sure that we reduce these congestions.”

Touching on the recent deaths at KUMACA, he said the situation is urgent and that the government needs to put a team together to evaluate what is going on the schools. “These things could spread because these students travel to visit other people from the other schools.”