Teachers Set Questions Under Trees

TEACHERS AT most basic schools in the Brong Ahafo region have turned trees into staff common rooms as schools in the region lack teachers’ offices.

A visit by DAILY GUIDE to some schools in the Sunyani municipality saw teachers busily writing out their end of term examination questions towards the Christmas vacation.

Contrary to government’s claims that it has removed all schools under trees in the country, the story is different in the region because most pupils were seen learning under trees while their teachers used them as staff common rooms.

The roofs of some classrooms that were ripped off when the rains set in early this year were yet to be replaced, forcing most of the pupils to study under trees.

Our reporter observed that the school buildings which were affected by the rains in February are deteriorating at a fast pace because they have still not been refurbished.

The paper discovered that most schools in the region especially in the Sunyani municipality lacked classrooms and offices for teachers.

Some teachers this reporter spoke to expressed their displeasure over the situation and called on government to turn its attention to the Brong Ahafo region by providing schools in the area with more classrooms and offices for teachers.

They said trying to teach children under trees was not a pleasant experience adding that if government does not do anything about it, they might leave to private schools.

Some of the pupils also disclosed that most of their mates have dropped out of school because they were not comfortable sitting under the trees while others have left to other schools.

“Anytime it rains, the teachers close for us to go home so we are always lagging behind with our lessons compared to our other mates in other schools,” one of them said.

The paper can confirm that most of schools in the region which have pupils learning under trees have lower enrollment because many of the children have either dropped out of school or transferred to different schools by their parents.