The national president of the Northern Students’ Union (NSU), Mr. Abdul Hamid Ibn Kailan, has called on authorities to as a matter of urgency solve the accommodation crisis facing females of the Tamale Senior High School (Tamasco). In an interview with ghana.com Mr. Kailan called on authorities of the Tamale Metro and Northern Regional Directorates of the Ghana Education Service to return the modern girls’ dormitory to Tamasco to alleviate the suffering of female students of the school.

“It is sad that for three years now ladies of Bagabaga Training College have been resident on Tamasco campus while Tamasco girls, for whom the dormitory was built are suffering in congested and poorly ventilated apartments,” he said. Female students of Tamasco and some of the boys sleep in round houses, commonly found in northern Ghana. The traditional round houses of northern Ghana are, however, more comfortable than those used by students of Tamasco as dormitories. The dormitories are smaller than the traditional buildings of the north. They are also roofed with iron sheets making, them very warm especially in the dry season. They are poorly ventilated and there are no fans in the dormitories. There is also overcrowding and some students have to sleep on the floor because there is no space to accommodate extra beds.

A modern dormitory block was built for the school when Tamasco benefited from the model school project. Upon completion of the dormitory block, however, the females’ dormitory of the Bagabaga Training College (near Tamaso) threatened collapse so the girls’ dormitory of Tamasco was given to them to them for temporal use. The ladies of Bagabaga Training College have since been occupying it for three years now. Some students who spoke on condition of anonymity complained about the discomfort they are forced to endure. According to them, there is nothing they can do about outbreak of the CSM. “Because the school has no fence wall,” one girl said, “we cannot sleep outside for the fear of sexual assaults from young men around.” The headmaster of the school, Alhaji T.A. Mahama, says decision to give the dormitory block to Bagabaga Training College was taken by the regional and metro directorates of Ghana Education Service and the then headmaster of the school, Mr. Bolina Saaka. According to him, the agreement was by word of mouth and there are no documents to that effect. He added that the decision to take the dormitory block back rests with authorities of the GES when the three year-period given to the Bagabaga Training College expires this year. However, he confirmed congestion among the girls.

The NSU President, says it is unacceptable to subject students to such conditions in this modern era, especially when there is a dormitory built for them for that purpose.

“I also call on northern compatriots especially, Old Tamascans, to help provide infrastructure for the students. There cannot be a better way of giving back to society than helping build educational institutions,” he added. For pictures on the Tamasco crisis visit www.maxighana.com

Credit: Manasseh Azure Awuni/ghanaweb.com