Protracted chieftaincy dispute

Story Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu

A protracted chieftaincy dispute at Adjua in the Ahanta West District of the Western Region has left pupils of the primary school at the mercy of the weather.

The chiefs are said to have sold part of the land designated for a school project and are also not ready to release the rest for the construction of new classrooms for the school.

As a result, the Ahanta West District Assembly is likely to allocate the fund for the school block to other communities that are ready to provide land for the project.

According to the Junior Graphic in a report filed by Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, pupils of the only primary school in the area are sharing a three classroom block, which is in a deplorable state among classes one to six.

Classes one to three use the classrooms, while those in primary four, five and six use the veranda of the block. Sadly, anytime it rains, school work is disrupted because of leaking roofs.

The factions are also aware that the Ahanta West District Assembly is ready to finance the project but they are not ready to release the land for the project.

The head teacher of the school, Mrs. Mary Mensah, said aside the poor infrastructure, the residents of the town had also resorted to the stealing of school furniture left on the veranda for use as firewood.

When contacted, the Ahanta West District Chief Executive, Mr Kwesi Biney, expressed regret at the conditions under which the children had to study.

He reminded the two factions that the children were being deprived of a sound learning environment because of the entrenched positions they had taken on the dispute.

The DCE confirmed that those involved in the dispute were aware that the assembly had set aside money for the construction of a classroom block but said "it will go to another community since the factions are not ready to compromise for the development of the community".

He bemoaned the fact that the chiefs had sold part of the land earmarked for the construction of the school.

In a related development, the nursery department of the school, is crowded with between 70 and 100 children in one small classroom which has very poor ventilation.

Teachers of the nursery department have no choice but to endure the heat in the classroom and continuously wipe off their sweat while teaching.