Congestion at Kamgbunli Islamic SHS: Chop boxes, trunks of students abandoned in the sun

• The lack of space in the dormitory have propelled students to pack their chop boxes and trunks outside

• The students join long queues in the morning to take their bath one after the other due to inadequate bathrooms.

Students of Uthman Bin Affan Senior High School (UBASH) at Kangbumli in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region, are appealing to the Government to come to their aid by improving educational facilities in the area for them.

The Uthman Bin Affan Senior High School was established in 2006 as a private school. The school was absorbed by the government of Ghana in 2012 but has since been facing infrastructural challenges.

The school which serves as the only Islamic Senior High School in the Western Region started with 28 students but currently has a population of 940 students.

The condition of the school keeps deteriorating with no help coming from anyone.

A visit by GhanaWeb‘s Western Regional Correspondent showed that the school needs improvement in facilities such as dormitories, classroom blocks, dining hall, places of convenience, potable water, vehicle, among others.

It was also observed that the rooms are congested to the extent that some personal belongings of the students such as chop boxes and trunks are kept outside at the mercy of the weather.

The situation has also forced authorities to run a shift system where some students report to school in the morning and close at 12noon. The second batch of students starts at noon and close at 3 PM.

Some of the students who interacted with us complained bitterly about the regular shortage of potable water in the school. They say the condition is seriously affecting academic works.

“This is our dormitory and one can see that our chop boxes and trunks are kept outside. This is because we don’t have enough space in our rooms. Our septic tank is full, and that has compelled students to defecate in polythene bags.”

According to the students, they had to join long queues in the morning to take their bath one after the other due to inadequate bathrooms.

“We don’t have enough beds, sometimes we have to put our bed sheets on the floor to sleep. They have converted some classrooms to dormitories and the heat is unbearable,” another student disclosed.

They are, therefore, appealing to Government and other benevolent organizations to come to their aid.

The Assembly Member of Kamgbunli Electoral Area, Sheikh Ishmaila Abdulai, who spoke to GhanaWeb, expressed worry over the situation.

He emphasized that since the establishment of the school successive governments have failed to construct some infrastructure to improve the existing facilities.

He disclosed that the existing educational infrastructure in the school was provided by the community.

He said the only teacher who has accommodation on the campus is the headmaster, but the rest of the teachers including senior house masters and mistresses stay outside the campus.

“The school lacks infrastructure, currently every block that we see in this school was provided by the Kamgbunli and some Islamic communities around. The government has done nothing in this school,” he added.

The Assembly Member lamented that the community has been paying levies to manage the school and therefore appealing for support.

Watch below the sad situation in the school;