Ntonso (Ash), Oct 10, GNA - Authorities of the Ntonso SDA Girls' Senior High School in the Kwabre-East District, have appealed to the Ghana Education Service (GES) and philanthropists to endeavour to come to the school's aid as it was confronted with serious accommodation challenges.

This is as a result of the recent fire outbreak that gutted the school, destroying some dormitory and classroom blocks, as well as personal belongings of most of the boarding students. Mrs Paulina Agyekum, the Headmistress noted that for now the authorities had been forced to create makeshift classes under trees for Form Two and Three students, numbering about 400. The incident, which occurred on September 28, this year, recorded no casualties however almost 350 students were estimated to have been seriously affected, forcing the authorities to close down the school temporarily.

Mrs Agyekum was briefing Dr Kwaku Agyemang-Mensah, Ashanti Regional Minister, on the incident when the he visited the school to assess the extent of damage and how the authorities were responding to the situation. The Headmistress stated that the school had recalled the Form Four students to enable them to register for their final exams and also carry on with academic activities so as not to affect their performance.

She described the incident as unfortunate as it could had been more fatal but for the quick response of some of the staff. Mrs Agyekum indicated that the school with a population of about 1,500 was generally facing accommodation challenges as the enrolment kept soaring and appealed to government to help the school to improve on the situation. Dr Agyemang=96Mensah said the Regional Coordinating Council would respond appropriately to help the stranded students to be relocated. He lauded the staff for their courage in the face of the tragedy and called on the school authorities and students to remain calm and to go about their duties with dedication.