Over 200 Pupils Evacuated To Avert Danger Posed By Crumbling School Block

About 200 pupils in classes four, five and six and kindergartens one and two at the Abura St Lawrence Catholic A and B Schools have been evacuated from their classes due to the danger the classroom block poses to them. The about 140 pupils in primary four, five and six who have been evacuated from their classroom have had to revert to the shift system to use the other classrooms after other classes have closed. The first stream of classes close at 12 noon to give room for the affected pupils to use the classrooms. The kindergarten pupils are now being schooled in the staff common room of the school while teachers use the verandahs. The block in question is an uncompleted storey building. The block is said to have been started more than 10 years ago but was abandoned. The building is weak and parts of the concentrate can be seen flaking off. The blackboard in one of the classrooms came off last term but authorities said there were no pupils in the class at the time it happened and did not cause any havoc. Authorities of the school, however, use the block as a classroom for the affected classes. However, the facility has further deteriorated, causing rain water to seep through the concrete roof of the uncompleted storey building. The Headteacher of the St Lawrence Catholic B School, Mr Robert Annan, said when school re-opened this January, they realised that chips of blocks from the roof was falling on the pupils. He said the evacuation was necessary to avert any possible disaster. He called on education authorities to come to the aid of the school to help them stop the shift system, noting that it had seriously affected effective teaching and learning Mrs Rose Eshun, assistant headteacher of the school, also complained about flooding due to poor drainage facilities in the area. She called for work on the drainage in the area to reduce flooding in the school.