Weeds takeover basic schools in Western Region

Weeds have now taken over the compounds of some basic schools in the Western Region following the long closure due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Some of the school blocks have developed serious cracks on them.

With barely 48 hours to the reopening, the situation in some schools visited by the Ghana News Agency showed no sign of readiness for school activities to resume as classrooms were still locked with rodents and debris and the compounds left unkempt.

Many of the schools that had some ongoing projects had stalled with the structures and some of the building materials left at the mercy of the weather.

Some of the schools visited include the Methodist Cluster at Agona in the Ahanta West Municipality which was a Polling Center for the recent NPP Parliamentary Primaries, Anaji MA Basic School and Effiakuma Methodist Primary and JHS in the Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipality.

Others are Bedu-Addo Methodist Primary and JHS, Woode Methodist Primary, Wiawso Road Key Primary and the Cluster of Schools near the Bompeh Senior High School all in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis.

School parks which hitherto were used by members in the communities for training and other activities like funerals and durbars were no more whereas churches which had their services in the classrooms can no longer do so due to the ban on mass gathering, leaving the fields bushy and the classrooms untidy respectively.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to infections and deaths around the world, and in Ghana with numbers continuing to rise daily. Schools have switched from holding in-person classes to virtual learning. Even daily shopping trips and simple strolls down the street aren't the same.

The President announced the indefinite closure of all schools, effective Monday, March 16, and with a ban on mass gathering as part the COVID-19 containment measures.

The Junior High Schools (JHS) will reopen for final year students to prepare towards their exit examinations as directed by the President that all JHS schools, both private and public should reopen on June 29, as part of the gradual easing of the COVID-19 restrictions.

Mr Benjamin Arko, Assemblyman for the Essikafo-Ambantem No. 2 Electoral Area, pointed out that arrangements have been made with stakeholders to clear all the weeds and make the campuses ready for teaching and learning to resume smoothly in the Area.

He suggested that Capitation Grant which was in arrears of one term could be released to the schools so that headteachers can use them to put the schools in order for proper and safe teaching and learning.

Mr Philip Evans Nyarko, Assemblyman for the Effia Electoral Area on his part, bemoaned that gates to the schools were locked, denying them access to the schools for any work to be made in them and said the pupils would be made to weed as usual when they returned.