Some aggrieved parents spent weeks on the school premises demanding their wards are admitted into the boarding house.

These parents from Savlugu, Takoradi, Konongo, Swedru, Akim Oda and Sogakope, massed up at the Regional Coordinating Council to petition the Eastern Region Minister, Eric Kwakye Darfour, and later moved to the Regional Education office where the Eastern Regional Education Director, Madame Gertrude Mensah, explained to them that the only option available was for their wards to be day students or be transferred to other schools close to them.

Pressure from the parents eventually forced the hands of the hitherto, insistent headmistress of the Seventh Day Adventist Senior High School to accommodate the students into the school’s boarding house.

Kwaku Bernard, a teacher in the school confirmed the latest development when Citi News visited the school to assess the situation on the ground, a month after the parents picketed.

“Currently, I can tell you we still have accommodation problems, but some structures are in place to solve it, we have a girls hostels which is about 70 percent complete, so when it is done the girls will move in”.

“Most of the students who did not get boarding accommodation were re-posted to other schools. I personally called some parents who confirmed to me that their wards have gained admission into other schools. Those who rented accommodation outside the school have all been given accommodation in the school now by the headmistress, they have all been called back into the school and there’s no one leaving outside the school’s compound.”

The teacher also pleaded for government’s intervention to address challenges with inadequate classrooms.

“We also need more classrooms because as the number of students have increased, definitely we need more classrooms to help in that regard, so we want appropriate authorities to come to our aid.”

Shift system at dinning 

Citi News’ next stop was at the Koforidua Technical Senior High School (Kotech). A month ago, Citi News reported about several challenges including the lack of accommodation facilities.

The Headmaster told Citi News the situation persists.

“Our dinning hall was designed to accommodate only 300 students, but now it is being used by over 900 students, so we are trying to do an extension of the structure. Formally, the delay and go slow at the dinning hall was affecting our contact hours, so we have designed a new strategy to curb that delay, so now lecturers close 10 minutes early so students can use the dinning, so I can say the problem is a bit okay now, but still we need a bigger dinning hall.”

Staff common rooms now dormitories/ Teachers relax under trees 

On accommodation, Mr. Dwamena explained that the teachers had to vacate their Staff common room and sit under  trees as their office has been converted into a boarding facility.

“With accommodation, we are facing the same problem because the boarding house was also designed to house below 900 students, but now it is operating above 900. We wanted just 150 boys and 200 girls, but most of the students who gained admission here are from far so the teachers have moved out of the staff common room and it is being used by the students as dormitory”.

“I have written a formal letter to the ministry for approval, I am yet to get approval for that, but it will accommodate close to 50 students, so the teachers saw the wisdom in it, and have moved out. We gave some space at the workshops so they go there to do their paper work, and some also sit under the trees to relax.”

Authorities of the school are meanwhile carrying out regular checks and monitoring at private accommodation facilities, that have been turned by landlords into hostel for students who couldn’t make it into the boarding house.

“Though these hostels are privately owned, the occupants are properties of our school and it’s our responsibility to take care of them. We have teachers going in there from time to time daily to check up on them, and monitor them so as they do not do what they prefer. We are really concerned about their safety and welfare and we will do everything to protect them.”

‘Chop Box’ rooms now dormitories

At the Oyoko Senior High School, where Citi News reported about landlords converting their unhygienic rooms into hostels for new students, the Assistant Headmistress in charge Domestic Issues, Madame Diana Mintah Jiagge, would not comment on the fate of students in private hostels, but said school authorities have converted 3 ‘chop box’ rooms to house more students.

“I do not want to talk about students in private hostels because it is outside the school and we have no business with it. What we are concerned about is the safety and well-being of students in the school’s dormitories, so we have converted two ‘chop box’ rooms, which was used by the students to keep their ‘chop boxes’ into a dormitory to be used by the girls, and when you go to the boys side, one box room has also been converted into a room to provide additional space for the boys.”

“We were expecting 500 boarders, but we were given 700, and we also received additional 71 students who were coming from afar, so we had no option than to give them boarding accommodation. Some of the parents were even pleading to let their kids sleep on the floor, but we managed to give accommodation to 27 students out of the additional 71 we received. I can say that no student is sleeping on the floor here in the school though the spacing in the dormitory is not too good.”

Inadequate furniture/ science labs now classrooms

On lack of furniture, she said the PTA is liaising with the school management to provide a total of 120 dual desks for the first year students immediately.

“I heard the Secretary of the PTA talking to my headmaster about the plans in place to provide 150 dual desks for the first year students. As I speak, some students are using the school’s science laboratories as their permanent classrooms because of the infrastructure and furniture problems we are facing here, the situation is not too bad; as you can see the kids are all in class learning.”

The implementation of the Free SHS which started in September this year with only first year students of about 400, 000, has shot up enrollment drastically, and this has put excess pressure on facilities in most senior high schools.

Government has promised to address the challenges as and when they arise, to sustain the programme.

–

By: Neil Nii Amatey Kanarku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Free SHS: SDA school ‘forced’ to accommodate more students appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

She said 18,709 were refugees from 20 countries with the overall majority from ECOWAS countries, while the other 2,094 were asylum seekers.

Speaking during the celebration of this year’s World Refugee Day in Accra, she said statistics from the UNHCR annual global trends report also indicated that the number of refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced people worldwide had for the first time in the post-world War 11 era, exceeded 50 million people.

“According to the report, 51.2 million people were forcibly displayed at the end of 2013, fully six million more than the 45.2 million reported in 2012”, she said.

Ms Kapaya attributed the increase to mainly the war in Syria, which at the end of last year had forced 2.5 million people into becoming refugees and made 6.5 million internally displaced.

She said major new displacements were also recorded in Africa, notably in the Central African Republic and South Sudan.

UNHCR Representative in Ghana expressed her appreciation to Ghana for living up to her international obligations by accepting refugees and asylum seekers since the early 1990s with the influx of over 40,000 Liberian refugees.

Ms Kapaya said the UNHCR had not only been working to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to refuges and asylum seekers in Ghana, but had also been actively pursuing durable solutions that would enable them rebuild their lives in dignity by giving them skills training, business support among others.

Ms Susan Ngongi, UN Resident Coordinator in Ghana, said the World Refugee Day had been celebrated since 2001 to honour the spirit, courage, resilience, strength and determination of people who had been forced to flee their homeland under the threat of persecution and violence.

She said the Day is to bring back human face behind the numbers, statistics and figures to raise awareness, compassion and understanding about individuals and families whose lives had been torn apart because of war, insecurity or human abuses.

Ms Susan Ngongi added that the Day would also be used to recognise the harrowing experiences of refugees and also to recognise their dreams, ambitions and aspirations.

Deputy Minister for the Interior, said Government had approved a local integration policy for refugees under which about 4,000 Liberian refugees had been granted stay in Ghana and to take advantage of opportunities in the country for their personal development.

He said Ghana stood out as one for the few countries in the world that had started issuing Convention Travel Document to refugees who qualify and show need to travel.

He appealed to refugees and asylum seekers in the country to reciprocate Ghana’s kind gesture by being law abiding and focus on opportunities available to them.

The theme for this year’s celebration was “One Refugee Family Torn Apart by War is Too Many”.

The occasion was also used to present unspecified number of Liberian passports to refugees who opted for local integration.

Source: GNA

The post 20,809 refugees live in Ghana- UNHCR appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.