School children In Al-Suaredeen Basic School Sit And Write On Bare Floor

After the Kperisi Basic School exposé of school children sitting on bare floor in classrooms especially in the northern part of the country which generated a lot of controversy in the country, it turned out that more schools are facing a similar problem. One of such is the Al-suaredeen Islamic Basic School at Gulabani in Tamale South constituency of the Northern region. The children lie flat on the dirty bare floor to write because they are without furniture. He said the pupils many of whom walk from long distances to school have to grapple for space on the floor due to the overcrowded nature of the classroom. The teacher cannot walk through the class to supervise class exercise. “I was extremely shocked when I saw the children lying on the bare floor” he stated while describing the situation.

However attempts to get the headmaster of the school to comment on the issue proved futile. He said he has been asked by the Municipal Education Directorate not to comment on the matter. Some of the teachers who spoke to Iliasu on condition of anonymity expressed worrying at the situation which they said is affecting teaching and learning. They added that the lack of desks in the classroom has made most of the pupils truants – a situation they noted could affect the future of the kids.

 But the Municipal Chief Executive of Tamale, Alhaji Abdul Hanan Gundadoo in an interview with Adom News, said the condition at Al-suaredeen has not been brought to his attention. But he said if the school is approved by the Ghana Education Service (GES), desks will be dispatched to the school. “We have about 500 units of desks available for distribution so if it [Al-suaredeen] a GES approved school, they will get some of the tables and chairs” he stated. Alhaji Gundadoo said government is still committed to improving the educational sector. Meanwhile, a promise by the Member of Parliament for the area, Haruna Iddrisu to provide desks for the school is yet to materialise.