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The authorities of Half Assini Senior High School (SHS) in the Jomoro District of the Western Region are considering halting admission of girls onto the school in the 2017/18 academic year, which commences in September.

This is because the school has no girls dormitory to accommodate the current 475 females in the school. The structure which used to be the girls dormitory had developed deep cracks and was abandoned in 2012.

The situation has forced the authorities of the school to convert the dining hall into a dormitory to accommodate the girls, a development which has caused serious congestion for the past five years.

The dilapidated structure which was abandoned in 2012
Speaking to the DAILY HERITAGE, the assistant headmaster of the school, Mr Elijah Nkrumah, said the authorities of the school, upon seeing the cracks in the building and for fear of any danger, relocated the students from the dormitory in 2012.

Mr Nkrumah said the plight of the school got the attention of the then Minister of Education, Mr Lee Ocran, who visited the school and was able to seek GETFund support to construct a two-storey dormitory.

He added that the contractor, within three months after the Minister’s visit, moved to site and started the building but abandoned the project a few months later.

Mr Nkrumah said because of the situation and the congestion, the school had partitioned the assembly hall into six classroom blocks, resulting in the students conducting morning assembly and other social gathering in the open and at the mercy of the weather.

The assistant headmaster said the school had written several letters to the Education Ministry, the District Education Director, GETFund Administrator, Ghana Gas and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, but had not received any response.

He revealed that the situation has really affected teaching and learning in the school and has affected the performance of the students as well.

Mr Nkrumah added that the school, which was established in 1960 by the first President of Ghana, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, and currently has a population of 1,572, has not seen any major rehabilitation works since its establishment.

He said the cry of the school got to Tallow Oil, which is currently constructing an assembly hall to stop students from standing in the hot sun for any major social gathering.

Mr Nkrumah is appealing to the education ministry, corporate organisations and philanthropists to assist the school because it serves more than 50 communities in the area.