The recent trended video of students of the Ghana Secondary School (GHANASCO) in Tamale, who were using toilet cubicles for accommodation, has expectedly triggered uproar across the country.
The said video, which has been sighted by this newspaper, showed student mattresses, chop boxes, bags and other student materials in the toilet compartment of a washroom.
Some of the materials and the students could also be seen in the hallway of the washroom.
The Ghana Education Service (GES), in a swift response in a statement, has described the situation as very disturbing and unfortunate.
According to the GES, records available to it indicated that “out of the 1,790 vacancies declared by the school, only 1,467 students have enrolled”.
In a statement, the Head of the Public Relations Unit of the GES, Cassandra Twum Ampofo, stated that the school was expected to have excess capacity to accommodate extra 300 students.
Following the disturbing nature of the video, the GES, has asked the headmaster of the school and the senior housemaster, have been asked to step aside.
“The Headmaster and the Senior Housemaster have been directed to step aside to allow for further investigations into the matter by the Regional Director of Education and report back in two weeks,” the statement signed by the Head of the Public Relations Unit, Cassandra Twum Ampofo disclosed.
Suspending the headmaster and the senior housemaster, although commendable, we are of the considered opinion that, they are being made scapegoats of a bigger problem.
As far as this newspaper is concerned, the lot of the average student in this country is worrisome because, over the years, they have continued to bear the brunt of government tinkering of education and there is no indication yet that the situation will change anytime soon.
It is either that the students lack accommodation to sleep or classrooms for learning or lack teaching and learning materials and worst of it all food to eat.
We commend Ghana Education service for its prompt reaction on the matter and the intervention of the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, has helped to douse the situation from escalating further.
