Tema day SHS students struggle for accommodation

A number of first-year students placed in public Senior High Schools (SHSs) in the Tema Metropolis which operate as day schools are struggling to find accommodation.

Six public senior high schools in the Tema Metropolis operate as day schools. The schools are Chemu SHS, Tema Methodist Day SHS, Presbyterian SHS, Our Lady of Mercy SHS, Tema Manhean SHS and Tema Technical Institute.

Hostels

The Tema Manhean SHS and Tema Technical Institute, however, have hostel facilities on campus which offer limited accommodation to students.

Nonetheless, construction works on a two-storey 900-bed capacity dormitory project at the Manhean SHS was progressing steadily when the Daily Graphic visited.

The project, which is being funded by the Landing Beach Committee at Tema Manhean was started in 2012. When completed, the dormitory would bring a huge relief to the students of Manhean SHS.

A visit to some of the schools by the Daily Graphic showed that parents who had reported to register and pick prospectuses were worried about the lack of accommodation facilities and they had to find solutions to the accommodation challenges.

When the Daily Graphic visited the Chemu Senior High School and Our Lady of Mercy (OLAM) Senior High School, both of which operate as day schools, some parents who had come from places outside Accra such as Yeji, a town in the Bono East Region, Nsawam in the Eastern Region, as well as Damongo in the Savannah Region were spotted enquiring if they could find accommodation for their wards.

OLAM

At OLAM SHS, a parent, who gave his name as Alhaji Adam Iddrisu, like many others, was unhappy his 14-year-old son would have to stay all by himself in a private hostel.

“We have been told we can get a hostel not far from the school since the school has no dormitory facilities. As a parent, renting a hostel for my son is a frightening thought because I don’t know what they will be engaged in without any elderly person to supervise them,” he said.

He said apart from the security concerns, he was worried about the money he had to spend in feeding his son, as well as the cost of securing the hostel.

The cost of renting the hostel accommodation ranges between GH¢300 and GH¢600 per head in facilities that take up to 30 students in some cases, the Daily Graphic learnt.

An executive member of OLAM’s Parent Teacher Association who declined to give his name said the school had plans to build a hostel facility which would give students a secured accommodation but due to lack of funds, the project had stalled.

He appealed to the government and organisations to assist the school to construct the facility.

At Chemu Senior High School, a parent who came all the way from Yeji said she was considering refusing her daughter’s placement due to the unavailability of dormitories and finding alternative admission in their home region.

Enrolment figures

Enrolment figures in the Tema Metropolis were difficult to ascertain as school authorities would not grant interviews to the media.

At OLAM SHS, information available on the school’s notice board indicated that a total of 505 first-year students had been placed in the school by the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).

Out of the number, 53, made up of 17 females and 36 males, were offered the Business course; 90, all female, were offered Home Economics; 70 (16 females and 74 males) were offered Visual Arts, while 182 (145 females, 37 males) were given General Arts and 90 students (47 females and 43 males) were given admission to study General Science.

At the Chemu Senior High School, preliminary information sourced from the school’s notice board indicated that 48 students were offered the Home Economics course, 134 students were admitted to study General Science, 206 were offered General Arts, 49 for Visual Arts, 50 for Business and 90 to study technical programmes.

Writer’s email: Benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh