Ayamga Apa-ala was on his backyard farm on August 13, 2024 when he observed thick clouds gathering. A thought flashed through his mind then his heart skipped a beat. He sprung up, throwing the hoe he was holding to the ground and racing out of the farm.
The man in his 40s had just remembered that his child, a KG One learner of the Lungu KG and lower Basic School, was still in school.
And was racing to the school to drag the 4-year-old out of the school building to safety before the imminent rainfall.
“I can’t guarantee his safety in that weak structure,” he said.
Ayamga and many parents who have their children at the Lungu KG and lower Basic School in the Bongo District constantly have to watch out for them especially in the rainy season.
This is because the children are housed in a weak structure that, community members say, is on the verge of collapse. And parents fear the building will come crumbling down on the heads of their wards when there is a downpour.
The mud structure, which houses KG and Basic learners, many of whom, are under 7 years, was built by the community several years ago.
Since then, it has not been renovated, said Assembly Member for the Lungu Electoral Area John Ayamga, who had his basic education in the community and is now a teacher.
Multiple deep cracks pierced into the structure with the mud used to build it peeling off especially during downpours.
Also, the roof leaks, and thus, when it rains, the bare floor, on which the learners sit due to lack of furniture, gets flooded.
“It’s leaking and the foundation is weak,” the Assembly Member for the area stated.
Parents are fully aware of the danger their children are exposed to being in that shelter. But they really have no option. It is the only school in the community and many of the people there are too poor to take their children to schools in nearby communities, which are miles away.
They are, thus, left with the daily emotional torture of balancing the education of their children against the children’s safety.
But this should not have been the case if the government had prioritized the lives of the little ones.
District abandons building new classroom block
In 2020, ahead of that year’s general election, the Bongo District Assembly led by Peter Ayamga Ayinbisa, who was running for Member of Parliament of the area, began the construction of a 3-unit classroom block directly opposite the old and weak structure.
The construction was in response to the cries of residents over the perilous conditions under which children of the community learn including sitting for lessons in a building that could collapse on them.
Work on the new classroom block progressed steadily and by 2021, it was at the lintel level.
However, the construction stalled after the 2020 elections in which Ayinbisa lost the parliamentary contest and subsequently, was replaced by Rita Atanga as DCE.
Rita Atanga did not respond to several requests for interview on this and many others challenges hampering education in the area.
In October 2024, however, she sent police after this reporter, who was filming similar challenges at the Kodorogo Primary and JHS.
That was days after several calls and text messages to her went unanswered.
This reporter later paid an unannounced visit to her in an attempt to seek answers and possibly, actions to the pressing issues affecting education in the area.
But she declined the interview in her office, claiming she was busy but would make time when she was less busy. She never reached out for the interview as assured.
John, the area’s Assemblyman, said he made countless follow-ups to the Assembly on the abandoned project and had specifically, spoken with the DCE, requesting her intervention.
“Anytime I go there (the Assembly), they would tell me they would look it but nothing has happened,” John complained.
Chief of the area did too, he said. But just like himself, the chief also got assurances and nothing more.
Learners sit on bare floor, two different classes share a single classroom
While the dilapidated nature of the building is a major concern, there are other issues that render it unconducive for learning.
“It’s a death-trap and the classrooms are not even enough,” the Assemblyman said.
The structure has only two rooms, but 3 classes – KG One, Two and Basic One – are sheltered there.
As a result , two separate classes – KG Two and Basic One – share one room while KG One occupies the other.
There are also no desks in the classrooms. So, learners sit on the bare floor or mats they brought from homes.
“Sometimes, they would bring a mat and they would sit on it. If there is a bench, most of them will also sit on it,” John painted a picture of the situation.
“If they are up to 6 or 10 or even 5 sitting on a bench, how are they going to write and concentrate?”
