Abbeykope JHS receives improved latrine: Appeals to KOICA for classroom block
Authorities of the Abbey D/A Basic School at Dawhenya in the Ningo-Prampram District of the Greater Accra Region have called on the government and other stakeholders to provide them with a befitting classroom block for the Junior High School stream and other facilities to improve teaching and learning at the school.
The students are compelled to study under an uncompleted pavilion; a situation the authorities say has affected teaching and learning.
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The Abbey D/A Basic School was started by the Presbyterian Church of Ghana but later taken over by the community leaders to help students further their education.
The headteacher of the school, Mr Enock Anyingmor Teye, who spoke to the Daily Graphic on the sidelines of the inauguration of a 16-seater toilet facility funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) for the school, said the school was in dire need of a classroom block to enhance teaching and learning at the junior high school department.
Mr Teye, however, thanked KOICA and the World Friends Korea volunteer programme for their unwavering commitment at helping accelerate access to basic education in the Abbeykope community and for constructing the toilet facility to create a conducive learning environment for children in the community.
He said prior to the construction of the toilet facility, male facilitators and their female counterpart’s as well as pupils shared one toilet cubicle respectively.
KOICA, through the World Friends Korea volunteer programme, an overseas volunteer corps that contributes significantly to development across the globe through volunteering activities, funded the 16-seater toilet facility at a cost of $25,000 under the “creating safe education environment by improving the hygiene environment of Abbey Basic School” project.
The Abbey D/A Basic school is one of the public schools in the Ningo Prampram District with a pupil population of 951.
Apart from the inadequate classrooms for the pupils, those in the kindergarten section also lack adequate space and they are forced to use the storeroom of the primary section for their lessons. A tree serves as the staff common room for the teachers.
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Handing over
Speaking at a brief handing over ceremony last Wednesday, the Country Director of KOICA Ghana Office, Mr Moo Heon Kong, said his organisation was pleased to have constructed the 16-seater toilet facility with washstands for the school because a good and hygienic toilet facility was not only a basic need, but a necessity for a school with such population.
“A lack of access to proper sanitation facilities poses a huge barrier to education, equality, and safety for children as pupils frequently miss school due to hygiene-related diseases. Toilets and proper washing stations can help stop the spread of many diseases,” he said.
He added that poor hygiene behaviours learned at school can be brought home by students and affect their personal lifestyle, hence KOICA's intervention to provide clean toilet facilities for the school.
The Ningo-Prampram District Director of Education, Mrs Sarah A. Abidruso, acknowledged the key role such a facility plays in helping accelerate access to basic education in the community and urged the community leaders including the traditional leaders, school management committees and parent teacher association to ensure the new toilet was adequately maintained.
Writer’s email: Benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh