The lack of infrastructure and teachers in the Bia East District of the Western North Region is becoming a major challenge, undermining the quality of education in many communities.
At Gyaukrom, a farming community in the Kwasare Krom Electoral Area, poor infrastructure and inadequate teaching staff are making teaching and learning very difficult for schoolchildren.
Due to the lack of a proper school building, pupils are currently using a dilapidated structure belonging to The Church of Pentecost as their learning center.
The school also has only one teacher, who handles all classes from kindergarten to class six, a situation that residents say is affecting the quality of education in the area.
Speaking to legendreport. Com , the only teacher at the school, Mr. Kwabena Baidoo, said the school operates in a church building, which is not spacious enough for all the classes. He explained that because of the limited space, he is forced to combine classes before teaching them.
According to him, the church structure has only four rooms, which are being used to accommodate pupils from kindergarten to class six, making teaching very difficult.
Mr. Baidoo further stated that school closes at noon, around 12:00 p.m., because the pupils do not have access to food. As a result, the children are sent home early every day. He said teaching all the classes alone is very stressful and appealed for immediate intervention. He added that he has reported the situation to the District Chief Executive, but no action has been taken so far.
The teacher also appealed to the school feeding program coordinator to include the community in the government’s school feeding program to support the children.
An opinion leader in the community, Thomas Afful Sarkodie, said they have written several letters to the District Assembly and the Ghana Education Service about the situation, but no action has been taken.
He questioned how one teacher can effectively teach pupils from kindergarten to class six and called on the government to recruit the many trained teachers currently at home and post them to deprived communities like Gyaukrom.
The Assembly Member for the Kwasare Krom Electoral Area, Mr. Collins Amuyaw, also confirmed that he has written to the Ghana Education Service in the Bia East District. According to him, the authorities have assured them that teachers will be posted to the community when new recruitment is done.
He said the shortage of teachers in the Bia East District is very serious and that the situation in his electoral area is worsening.
He noted that several reports have been made on the issue, but the district continues to face a shortage of teachers.
Mr. Amuyaw called on the Ghana Education Service to intensify recruitment to ensure that more teachers are posted to underserved communities.
He added that teachers had previously been posted to Gyaukrom, but many of them did not stay due to the poor living conditions in the community, including the lack of electricity and mobile network, which often forced them to leave after posting.
