Authorities at Kpambegu Khalidiya Basic School Complex are appealing for urgent government intervention to save their deteriorating junior high school block that they say now endangers more than 220 students and undermines basic learning.

The school, caught in an apparent administrative limbo between Tamale South and the Sagnarigu area, says years of appeals for renovation have produced no results. Its leaders are now calling directly on the Education Minister, the Ghana Education Service, district authorities and charitable organisations to act before the structure fails.

Students describe a learning environment that deteriorates further with every rainfall. A pupil of the school, Adnan said windows have been removed, portions of the cement floor have broken away, and the roof leaks during rain, disrupting lessons for pupils and teachers alike.

Headmistress Miss Paula Akanko said she fears strong winds could cause further damage to the already weakened JHS block, potentially putting the entire school community at risk. Teachers have abandoned the staff common room because cracks in its walls allow reptiles inside, forcing some to hold meetings under a tree.

The school’s sanitation situation is equally severe. A teacher, Mr Akwasi, described the toilet facility as a “death trap” and said pupils and staff share a single urinal pit. With no proper waste containers, rubbish is discarded across the compound.

Despite computing being part of Ghana’s basic-school curriculum, the school has no computer for teaching or administration. A pupil Najat said teachers are compelled to draw computer components on the chalkboard to explain lessons.

The school’s poor drainage has turned its grounds into an erosion-prone site. Mr Akwasi said heavy rainfall washes sand across the compound, sometimes forcing pupils to miss lessons to fetch sand for repairs.

He said the school has ample land for recreation, but its football field remains unusable because of its poor condition. The absence of safe sanitation, waste management and recreational facilities compounds concerns about pupils’ health, dignity and ability to learn.

The school’s plight has exposed a jurisdictional problem. Miss Akanko said Kpambegu Khalidiya is located in the Tamale South Constituency, within the Tamale Metropolitan Area, but appears on the education map under the Sagnarigu District, leaving school leaders uncertain which assembly or education directorate should respond.

That uncertainty has delayed action, she said, despite repeated efforts to secure support for renovating the JHS block.

The school is now demanding a clear administrative designation and an immediate maintenance plan. It is appealing for renovation of the JHS block, computers and ICT equipment, safe toilet and waste facilities, drainage works and a usable sports field.

Ghana’s government has acknowledged a broad basic-education infrastructure deficit: the Education Minister recently cited Auditor-General findings that about 3 million pupils in 10,730 schools across 13 regions lack classrooms and announced plans for integrated basic schools with ICT and sanitation facilities from 2027.  For pupils at Kpambegu Khalidiya, however, school authorities say the need is not a future programme, it is an emergency.

By Fuseini Katali Issah