Rural community appeals for classroom block

The chief and people of Zanko, a rural community in the Wa West District, have appealed for classrooms for the Junior High School (JHS) to save students from enduring the harsh weather conditions under trees.

They said the school children sat under a mud structure and a grass shade provided by the community, while they awaited the intervention of the government or philanthropic organisations or individuals, but that structure had been destroyed by a rainstorm.

Yelbaani Yuonye, the Zanko chief’s spokesperson, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that, an improvised grass shade also served as the staff common room.

He added that an old church building that served as a classroom was also ripped off about a year ago, leaving the children with no option than to endure the harsh weather condition to study under trees.

“We have cried to our MPs for a long time and they also keep promising us but we are still not seeing anything.

“If all the promises were fulfilled, by now we would not have been crying about this school again,” Mr Yuonye, who is also the School Management Committee (SMC) Chairman said.

Issahaku Daluo, a Unit Committee Chairman of the area, said the children at the Zanko community used to attend school at Guo, which was far from the community, coupled with the deplorable state of the Zank-Guo road, made many children to drop out of school.

“From here to Guo it's very far. When it rains too there is always water on the road and the children cannot cross, so during the rainy season, our children don’t go to school.

“We later started the JHS in 2019, so that the children will not suffer much. Some school children from Zank-Junction also come here, but we don’t have the classrooms,” Mr Daluo explained.

During a visit to the community by the GNA, the community members had mobilised to patch the mud structure and the shades to help reduce the ordeal of the children.

The residents expressed readiness to provide the needed labour to put up classrooms for the children if they were supported with the building materials such as cement, iron rods, roofing sheets and boards.

The people also talked on the need for a borehole at the school to save the children from having to abandon classes in search of water.

Madam Sunkari Yuonye, a cook at the school, told the GNA that the community had only one borehole, which was also far from the school.

“The children who go to fetch water for us to cook sometimes miss classes as they have to join long queues at the borehole,” she added.