Dam spillage has affected 15,000 pupils; 1,000 teachers in 9 districts - Ntim Fordjour

Nearly 15,000 pupils and 1,000 teachers in nine districts, mostly in the Volta Region, have been affected by floods from the Akosombo and Koong dam spillage, Deputy Education Minister Rev Ntim Fordjour has informed Class News.

In an interview with Valentina Ofori-Afriyie on Class91.3FM's mid-day news 12 Live, Rev Fordjour stated that the Ministry of Education is putting in place mitigation measures to reduce learning losses in the affected areas. He noted that despite the harrowing situation, the teachers in those areas were still committed to teaching.

"We were impressed with their willingness to avail their professional duties as teachers even in these times," Rev Fordjour said.

Regarding the learners, he explained the situation: "For the 103 schools that were affected within the nine districts, we have roughly up to 1,000 teachers related to those schools, and we have over 14,909 who have been affected by this [disaster], particularly within North Tongu and the adjoining areas of the hotspots of the floods."

He said the learners have been categorized into three groups, according to the extent and impact of the disaster in their schools and communities. Firstly, there are pupils who have been taken to safe havens with their families, and "we've been able to make temporary arrangements for schooling for them in makeshift structures."

Secondly, there are schools in certain communities that were spared the disaster, so the pupils there are running shifts alongside pupils from other communities who can safely make their way to the spared schools for learning to continue.

In the third category, both the communities of the pupils and their schools have been totally submerged and marooned.

"So, we have these three different situations at various points, and there are various interventions that we are putting in place to ensure that in each of these unique cases, learning losses are mitigated," he told Valentina Ofori-Afriyie.

He revealed that digital learning materials and other makeshift logistics have been deployed to ensure that the learners' education is not disrupted.

"It is not expected that at this point, the academic calendar is going to be affected," he noted.