Gbeogo School for the Deaf cries for help

Tongo (UE/R), Sept. 25, GNA - Gbeogo School for the Deaf in the Talensi-Nabdam District of the Upper East Region, the only school for deaf in the region, is facing serious crises due to lack of basic school infrastructure, which is hampering effective teaching and learning in the school.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Tongo, the headmaster of the school, Mr Francis Andiba, said the school, which is a boarding school, had no boys' dormitory. The boys share the same block with the administration staff, which he noted, was not the best. He announced that as at last academic year, the school's total population stood at 208, and that the pupils could not be properly contained in the limited classrooms in the school.

The school had not also been connected to the national power grid, he said, added that, the only administration block had electricity. He noted that the children needed light in the night to enable them to communicate in sign language in their studies.

Mr Andiba also expressed dismay about the poor nature of the one-kilometre road leading from the Tongo Township to the school, especially when it rained. "Often than not, we are cut off completely from the towns, when it rains heavily".

He said the twelve staff of the school had no accommodation and had to come from Bolgatanga, a distance of about 25 kilometres each day to teach, and this had adverse effects on teaching and learning. The headmaster, however, commended the GETFUND for the on-going construction of the boys' dormitory and teachers' quarters, and appealed to them to speed up the work to enable the school to enrol more children.

He also appealed to the district assemblies in the region to contribute to the development of the school, since it was the only professional school for the deaf in the entire region. He said the school runs from kindergarten to the junior secondary school level and would start writing the Basic Education Certificate Examination in April next year.