Three Classrooms in one at Atanda Primary School
Prior to last year’s General Election, Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, in the course of his campaign to get the New Patriotic Party to power, came face to face with the reality of children learning under harsh conditions and in dangerous “school” structures.
He exposed these situations through the media, the government then, through District Chief Executives, hurried to these schools to address their problems.
Residents of Atanda community in the Goo-Atanda Electoral Area in the Bongo District in the Upper East Region, on Friday, February 3, took some Journalists round the only community school, to expose their challenges and to attract the needed attention.
Children at the Atanda Primary School and KG learn under very harsh conditions. The school cannot boast of a single classroom, except an uncompleted mud structure of a local Church with sandy floor and a big tree with an open dry space, where the pupil sit for their lessons.
The school was started in 2015 as a response to the need for a school for the Atanda community, since the nearest school at Goo community is over 5 kilometres away.
The initiator of the school, Julius Ayamga Pascal said, he returned home from Southern Ghana and was moved by the plight of the orphans in the community, who had no one to take them to school in Goo and so were left to loiter.
Today, Atanda Primary School and KG has become a school for every child in the community because of the distance and lack of a better primary school in the community. Currently the school has a total of 300 children from Primary 1 to 3, as well as KG.
At the time of the visit the KG 1, was divided into classes A and B learning under a tree and being taught by Julius Ayamga Pascal. Pupils in KG 2 and Primaries 1, 2 and 3 learn in the uncompleted local Church’s structure.
The structure has no divisions and so the children are virtually together with imaginary divisions, forming KG 2, Primary 1, 2 and 3. This situation according to Mr. Ayamga, makes teaching and learning difficult because the teachers could hardly get the attention of all their pupils.
The Atanda Primary School is blessed with two trained teachers and two voluntary teachers, including Mr. Ayamga. Asked what motivated them to accept to teach in the school, the voluntary teachers unanimously said they considered the plight of the children.
Julius Ayamga Pascal in an interview with Journalists said despite the challenges facing the school, the level of education of the children and their desire to go to school every day, are far better than before and was very hopeful that, the situation will get better if the school gets the requisite structure and teachers.
He hinted that, the Ghana Education Service in Bongo District has given the school some 25 dual desks and has promised to take over the school.
From: Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Atanda-Bongo District