Teachers Boycott Classes � Due To Gov�t�s Neglect Of Tattered Structures

STAFF OF St. Augustine�s Senior High School (SHS), Bogoso, in the Western region will not be returning to the classroom to teach when school re-opens on May 5, 2014 because the school is in a very terrible and dangerous state that can claim the lives of the students and staff. The school is due for re-opening for the third term in a week�s time, but the teachers have made a resolution not to attend classes when school resumes until the deplorable structures receive a facelift. In letter chanced upon by the Daily Heritageand signed by the chairman of the Teachers�Welfare Association of the school, Thomas AgyiriTsing and addressed to the Director General of the Ghana Education Service, the teachers announced that�We, the staff of the above school regret to inform you that we would not be available in school when the school re-opens during the third term (5th May 2014). �We have had several meetings whereby teachers have expressed misgivings about the state of affairs of the school blocks, especially, the Classroom Block and the Boys� dormitory of which nothing is being done to solve the problem,� Mr. Agyiri lamented. �The state of these blocks is so dangerous that it is a threat to the lives of teachers, as well as the students. We the teachers expect that action is expedited immediately on these blocks or we would withdraw our services when school re-opens.� Confirming the letter to the Daily Heritage in an interview, the chairman of the association, Mr. Agyiri stated that though teachers may come to the school, until the death trap is repaired, they will not step foot in the classroom. The headmaster of the school, Peter Dickson Mensah also confirmed to the paper that he is aware of the intention of his staff and that the letter addressed to director generation of GES has been forwarded to the regional director of education through the Prestea-Huni Valley district director of education. The Western Regional director of GES, Augustus Nii Lante Cleland, also confirmed to the Daily Heritage in a telephone interview that he has received his copy of the letter and is working around the clock to see to the situation. The letter has been copied to The District Chief Executive, PresteaHuni-Valley District, the Chairman, Board of Governors, St Augustine�s SHS, the P.T.A Chairman, St Augustine�s SHS, the District Fire Officer, PresteaHuni-Valley District and the District NADMO Coordinator, PresteaHuni-Valley District. It would be recalled that the Daily Heritage on its Monday, February 25, 2013 and Monday, March 10, 2014 editions on the front page under the captions, 1, 163 ON DEATH ROLL @ST. AUGUSTINE�S SHS AND ST. AUGUSTINE�S SHS STILL IN TATTERS, respectively, highlighted the fact that calamity is in the offing and that a three-storey classroom facility the school is using needs urgent attention. Immediately the story broke out, the Western Regional director of Ghana Education Service (GES), Augustus Nii Lante Cleland and the district director of education visited the school to acquaint themselves with the situation. The classroom facility has become a life tormentor and has one of its two staircases which links students and teachers to their classrooms and officers from the ground floor to the last floor gravely and fatally detached from the main building. The Daily Heritage can confirm after a visit to the school that the situation is gorier than earlier reported. This time, the strength of a three-Storey classroom facility has become weaker and showing signs of plucking off soon since the separation between the staircase and the building has widened up providing more scary moment for the occupants.