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20 pupils narrowly escape death …as school building collapses
Collapsed school building
Twenty pupils of Zamboree D/A Basic School in the Assin North District of the Central Region narrowly escaped death following the collapse of their school building during a rainstorm on Monday.
The heart-rending incident befell the pupils in the farming community at about 9am when classes were in session.
The structure, built with mud and supported by wood hung loosely, exposing the children to the vagaries of the weather.
Opinion leaders in the community and surrounding areas have for many years appealed to the government for support to no avail.
Mr Jacob Tetteh Agbeko, the School Management Committee Chairman (SMC), told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that pupils in Classes Two and Three were the only pupils affected.
He said the building had, for years, been in a dilapidated state due to neglect and the situation was exacerbated by the onset of the rain, opening more cracks and weakening the structure.
As a result, the SMC Chairman said when the teachers observed the danger associated with the windstorm, they instructed the pupils to leave their classes and immediately after, the building collapsed, trapping their books and bags.
At the moment, various classes have been combined to accommodate the affected pupils.
He, therefore, called for urgent assistance from the government, the District Assembly and corporate Ghana, to as a matter of urgency support the school.
Some parents and pupils appealed to the government to complete an abandoned six-unit classroom block which started in 2013.
They said the abandoned building has been left to rot in the bush, making it a prime habitat for reptiles and other creeping animals, endangering the pupils.
Mr Thomas Yogarim, the Assemblyman for the area, said the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the District Assembly had been informed, and that they were waiting for assessment and assistance. –GNA