Pupils at Enyan Nsawadze Methodist Basic School are holding lessons under trees following a heavy rainstorm that ripped off the roof of their classroom block, compounding long-standing infrastructural challenges in the community.
Nearly a month after the storm, the kindergarten and primary one block remains partially destroyed, leaving children as young as five exposed to the elements. Parents and community leaders have appealed for urgent intervention, warning that the situation is putting pupils at risk.
“Each morning, pupils carry desks from other classrooms and arrange them under limited shade before lessons can begin,” said a local parent. “The situation is very critical now because we do not have any extra classroom or school block for them.”
The storm follows the earlier collapse of the school’s junior high school (JHS) block nearly 15 years ago, which has yet to be rebuilt. School authorities say the damage has forced class mergers, disrupting academic activities and overburdening the six teachers on staff.
“We have no JHS block, so we combine them, two classes in one, and that is how we are managing it,” said the headteacher. A recent incident saw a child break a leg while moving furniture, highlighting the dangers of the improvised arrangements.
Most of the school’s infrastructure, aside from a three-unit classroom block built under the HIPC programme in 2002, has been provided by non-governmental organisations. Repeated appeals for support have reportedly gone unanswered.
The Central Regional Education Directorate acknowledges the wider problem, noting that several basic schools in the region face similar challenges. “When we talk about infrastructure, it is a challenge. Furniture is also a problem in both basic schools and senior high schools,” said a regional education official.
Limited facilities, overcrowding, and weather disruptions, officials warn, are hindering effective teaching. “Lessons began at 8 and it is 10:00, and we have had to change our location twice because the sun’s direction keeps changing,” one teacher explained.
Community members continue to call on authorities to act swiftly to rebuild classrooms and provide adequate learning environments for the affected pupils.