The Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly has given the Municipal Directorate of education the go-ahead to close down Rashadiya Islamic Primary School.
The decision to close down the school stems from years of dwindling enrollment largely due to poor sanitary conditions and the lack of space for expansion.
The school which is located in the Damweo Electoral Area has a toilet facility and a refuse dam close to it which is adversely affecting teaching and learning in the school. This is because of the stench emanating from the toilet facility and the damping site especially when residents burn weeks and months of accumulated and uncollected waste, the site is not one to behold.
This has led to parents constantly withdrawing their wards leaving the school with very few learners though the proprietor of the school is insisting that the school should not be closed down.
The Ghana Education Service in a letter notifying the assembly of their intention to close down the school explained that the Headmistress of the school died last month from a heart and lung-related disease which could be attributed to the poor sanitary conditions in the area where the school is located.
They also cite unnecessary interference and the underutilization of the nine (9) teachers in the school since the population of the entire school from KG to primary 6 is not up to a normal GES-approved classroom.
The entire population of the Rashadiya Islamic Primary School from basic one to six is forty-one (41) with all the classes having single numbers.
Having observed the situation for himself, the Bolgatanga Municipal Chief Executive, Rex Asanga explained that the closure of the school which will take effect come next term will be in the best interest of the learners.
The MCE said it was highly unsustainable and unhealthy to keep students and teachers in such an environment thereby risking their lives. He has since granted the request of the GES in the Municipality to shut down the school at the end of the term.
“The issue of Rashadiya Islamic Primary School has been running for some time now so we came to see if there has been some improvement but from what we have seen, the enrollment is so low and some classes have three being taught by a teacher and I don’t think that it is sustainable to keep this school running.
So, come next term, we will close down the school, and redistribute the teachers and the learners because the numbers and the environmental conditions do not augur well for the continued operation of the school,” the MCE served notice.
Timothy Allou, Deputy Director, Monitoring and Supervision of schools at the Bolgatanga Municipal Directorate of Education, stated that the poor sanitary conditions, enrollment, and too much interference by the proprietor in the management of the school are among the several reasons for the closure of the school.
“For the past seven to ten years, the situation has never been different and we have gotten to the crossroads that we feel something is wrong somewhere. We realized that the environmental conditions; there is a toilet and refuse damp close by and they burn the refuse which affects the breathing of the students and teachers. Also, there is too much interference by the proprietor and we can’t allow a school where one teacher will be handling three in a class to continue to operate,” he said.
