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Gyili pupils study on bare floor
Over 200 pupils at the Gyili D/A Primary School in the Takpo Area Council of the Nadowli-Kaleo District in the Upper West Region sit or sprawl on the bare floor to take lessons during school hours because the school does not have enough furniture.
Investigation by The Spectator Newspaper revealed that the kindergarten block has a total of 58 school children in two separate classrooms, but has only six dual desks and three broken ones.
The primary block which is made up of six classrooms and accommodating 153 pupils cannot boast of more than 15 functional dual desks.
In some of the classrooms, a dual desk which is originally designed to take two pupils had four or five pupils occupying it making it difficult for them to write.
In an interview, the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) Chairman, Mr Abraham Suglo who drew this paper’s attention to the plight of the school, described the situation as worrying and said it affected school attendance as some parents were unwilling to send their wards to a school where pupils had to lie on their tummies for lessons.
“Money is difficult to come by these days and when you are able to raise a little, you are forced to use it on soap because each time your child returns from school, they look very dirty”, he decried and said the PTA was appealing to donors and benevolent persons to assist the pupils with furniture to facilitate teaching and learning.
“The PTA is putting resources together to fix some of the broken furniture but we are calling on individuals and organisations to support us provide desks for our children”, he added.
The Vice Chairman of the PTA, Mr Eric A-iriba also expressed that aside the issue of desks, the school block also needed refurbishing to make it more suitable for academic work.
He called on government and the district assembly to help renovate the school block, provide furniture and also post more teachers to the school as some of the classes did not have teachers.
When contacted, the District Director of Education, Mr Christopher Kutina said the inadequate supply of furniture in schools was a national issue that needed the attention of every well-meaning Ghanaian not only the government.
He said the directorate was working around the clock to secure support for such schools and said parents who could support should do so for the sake of their wards.
“We know there are some affluent ones in the communities and within the schools’ PTA who can assist and that is why we are reconstituting the schools’ management committees (SMCs) and get them sensitised to the fact that they need to support the development of their wards’ schools with their personal resources if they could”, he added.
From Lydia Darlington Fordjour, Gyili
Madam Sandra Seyram Kpedor, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Anloga in the Volta Region, has emphasised the importance of parental involvement in children’s education, stating that education is free, but parents need to do more to support their children.
She said parents, teachers, and students must be involved in addressing the challenges facing the district’s education sector, particularly the poor Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results.
Madam Kpedor outlined some key roles parents should play to promote their children’s education, including providing a conducive learning environment, monitoring their children’s progress, and supporting teachers.
The DCE highlighted some challenges the district faced such as inadequate infrastructure and a shortage of teachers, which have also contributed to the poor BECE results and called on well-to-do parent to help solve the situation through and other supports.
To address the issues, she also announced that plans have been taken to utilise the district’s common fund to implement educational projects, such as constructing school blocks and teachers’ bungalows at Sodzi community, and 2-unit classroom blocks each at Akplorwutorkor and Tegbi-Afedome respectively, among others.
Madam Kpedor also noted that her office had earlier notified the Ministry of Education to deploy more teachers to the area to improve teaching and learning, and encouraged students to work hard and strive for excellence, and work beyond their limit to succeed.
“To my wonderful and beautiful girls, you have to know it clear that women and girls have equal opportunities to compete with men for greater achievements,” she indicated.
The DCE cited her own achievement as a testament to the fact that women can excel in leadership positions, alongside Vice President Nana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, and stressed that girls were no longer limited to domestic roles but can pursue their dreams and become leaders.
Additionally, she mentioned that a meeting was held earlier with assembly members, and other stakeholders to address the district’s educational challenges and improve academic performance.
She promised that the district’s education oversight committee and stakeholders would work together to address the challenges and improve the district’s BECE results and called for parental involvement and support to boost the district’s education sector for children to chase their dreams to become future leaders for the success of the district and the nation.
She urged parents not to leave everything to the government but rather help in the provision of some necessary materials such as textbooks, exercise books, pens, pencils, food, and guidance to children for the successes of young learners. –GNA
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The spokesperson for Dr. Bawumia, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, has criticised the implementation of the NDC government’s No Fee Stress policy, arguing that the programme has failed to deliver on its core promise.
According to him on Starr fm, the policy, which was introduced to ensure stress free payment of fees for level 100 tertiary students, has rather turned into what he described as post stress support.
He explained that students are required to pay their fees first before applying for reimbursement, a situation he believes defeats the purpose of the policy.
He questioned claims by government officials that the policy has been successful and that citizens are happy.
In his view, such claims do not reflect the lived realities of many Ghanaians. He stressed that while some people may appear satisfied, many others continue to struggle.
Dennis Miracles Aboagye pointed to the situation of trained teachers and nurses who have been picketing for nearly six months, demanding employment.
He noted that government responses suggesting it cannot accommodate all of them contradict claims of economic stability.
He further argued that economic indicators such as a stable currency mean little to people who are unable to secure jobs or access promised support.
He observed that telling an unemployed teacher or a struggling student that the cedi has strengthened does not address their immediate challenges.
On the issue of tertiary education, he maintained that no level 100 student benefited from stress free fees in 2025, despite the policy being announced.
He added that in 2026, students have already reported to school without receiving the promised support.
He insisted that asking students to pay fees first and seek reimbursement later amounts to support after hardship, not stress free education.
According to him, this approach goes against what was promised during the policy announcement.
Dennis Miracles Aboagye questioned why a government that presents the economy as strong is unable to fulfil what he described as simple and clear promises.
He added that there is a fundamental problem with the way the economy is being managed and indicated that he is prepared to explain his position further.
By: Jacob Aggrey
