The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has issued a directive for churches to desist from holding services in classrooms in public basic schools in the metropolis by the end of July.
[contextly_sidebar id=”X61D31QYqGDwsMrgLwZOYtvLXwsEPv9F”]According to the AMA the continuous use of the classrooms for mid-week and weekend worship has resulted in the destruction of furniture, leading to a disruption in academic activities.
Public Relations Officer of the AMA Nuumo Blafo III confirmed that a six-month ultimatum has been given to them to vacate these classrooms, stating that “failure to comply with the directive would force the AMA to deal with such churches according to the law.”
“They have been given up to July to seek alternative places of worship and leave the school structures, so that by September we can do whatever necessary renovations that we have to do.”
According to the PRO, an earlier directive was given for churches not to hold services in the millennium schools, adding “We have issued a directive that no church should be allowed to worship in any of our millennium city schools. But we have other schools that they were already worshipping, so they are those that the directive has been given to.”
The PRO also disclosed that the duration given to these churches to vacate is to ensure it meets the school holiday breaks adding, “by the end of July when they have would have vacated the schools we will go in and put in the necessary things that need to be done before schools reopen.”
“We are not against anybody worshiping but what we are against is the worshiping in the classrooms because they drag the furniture up and down which cause them to break down.
We have heard complaints from the school authorities that these churches make lots of noise during school hours and these issues came to the AMA,” he explained.
A similar directive was issued by the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Directorate in November last year for churches worshiping in public basic schools in the metropolis and other peri-urban communities to stop the use of the classrooms, effective January 1, 2015.
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By: Patricia Conteh/citifmonline/Ghana