Volta Region: Residents bemoan stalled efforts at building E-block school for the community

Residents of Shia, a border community near Ho in the Volta Region are yet to come to terms with a failed promise to put up an e-block community day school.

They contend that while a feasibility study was concluded for work to start, the land allocated for construction is still lying idle.

Members of the Shia community said through the relentless effort of the chief and the Shia Development Committee, a community senior high technical school was constructed, but this school however did not have the requisite infrastructure leading to a proposal to put up one of the e-block community schools in the area.

According to them, feasibility study was carried out and in 2016 a land was made available and the Member of Parliament for Ho Central, Benjamin Kpodo and a team of experts led by the former deputy minister for education, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa visited the community to inspect the land with a site plan for work to begin.

Seven years on, nothing has since taken place on the 40-acre land. They fumed, saying the Shia Senior High Technical School has no decent classrooms since its establishment in 1998.

Interestingly students are still studying under pavilions provided by the community and an old middle school block has been turned into a dormitory for boys whilst girls trek from town to school every day because there is no dormitory.

An old administration block is used as classrooms and an improvised erected shed used as kitchen. The lack of infrastructure has impacted negatively on development of the school leading to low enrolment, residents disclosed.

Students reject postings to the school and for those who accept, go back home and never return thereby putting pressure on authorities of the school.

An administration block provided by a native of Shia is situated outside the school campus whilst some structures provided them outside the school to use as science laboratories did not meet standards.

The Asstant Headmaster of the school, Sebastian Kofi Ayitey who spoke with 3news said a 12-unit classroom block started in 2018 is now about 90 percent complete at the site ear-marked for the e-block community school.

 

He said construction of an e-block for the school would have helped ease the pressure of lack of infrastructure in the school, unfortunately it did not happen, thereby keeping the entire Shia community wondering.

An opinion leader Samuel Foli who justified why government must come to the aid of the school stressed that the community would not relent in its efforts to push for the e-block to be constructed at Shia.

The School Prefect of Shia Senior High Technical School, Atsinoto Yaababy lamented the numerous challenges the school faces and appealed not only to government but philanthropists and public-spirited organizations to support the school

Story by Robert Abilba

The post Volta Region: Residents bemoan stalled efforts at building E-block school for the community first appeared on 3News.

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