Students from Amenga-Etego primary school sit on stones to study under trees

Some students from Amenga-Etego Primary School in their ‘classroom’

It is very sad, if not upsetting, to see the staff of Amenga-Etego Primary School struggling to impart knowledge to their students.

Studying under shea and dawadawa trees endangers the lives of more than 200 students of Amenga-Etego Primary School.

Located in Kandiga Bembisi in Kasena Nanakana West District of the Upper East Region, these students are exposed to adverse weather conditions, dusty environment and destruction by road users.

The situation becomes dire during the rainy season, forcing teachers to end classes when clouds begin to gather. To make matters worse, others use stones as furniture to study under the trees.

“Three pavilions were built in 1993 and nothing has been done since. So the children sit under trees to learn. When it rains, the children cannot learn.

“During the Harmattan, the children cannot learn. This causes the children to lose contact hours. While their colleagues are learning in other schools, they will be at home when it rains,” said Nicholas Aboyinga, patron of the Bembisi Youth Association.

Currently, first, second and third year students study under trees, while fourth, fifth and sixth year students study in a dilapidated three-unit classroom block that the community erected several years ago. The doors of the existing classroom blocks have been broken down and cracks have appeared in the floors.

Clement Ndogseh, a former Member of Parliament from Bembisi Constituency, narrated how he wrote several letters to the Kasena Nankana District Assembly about the poor state of the school but to no avail.

“I have raised the issue of this school with the DCE at meetings of the assembly during my time at the meeting but no progress has been made whatsoever. No infrastructure has been added since its inception. The previous and current government have assured us of a three-unit classroom block, but we are yet to see it.”

The community’s hopes are pinned on the government and charities to help save the situation before the rains begin.