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Bunkpurugu (N/R), Oct. 03, GNA – Classrooms in the Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo District are overpopulated with pupils and the attendant congestion and overcrowding is making teaching and learning uncomfortable and inconvenient to both pupils and teachers.

At the Salimbouku B Junior High School, the population of the students in Form one was 102, in Form two, there were 134 students, while the Form threes were 112 and this is quadruple the average pupil-teacher ratio of 35 as stated as the acceptable quota by the Ghana Education Service in Ghana.

At the DA primary school, where the school has been divided into A and B, a similar situation was witnessed with a student population of 135 in some classrooms and a total student population of 378 in the school.

The Headmaster of Salimbouku B JHS said the school had received such astronomical population because it was one of the best schools in the area adding that because of the conflicts too, a lot of people had brought their wards from the villages to the township.

He appealed to government and other benevolent organizations to come to their aid and help provide enough classrooms and other infrastructure to enhance the teaching and learning.

Mr Duut Saaganma Gado, Headmaster of the DA JHS, also complained of overcrowding in the school and explained that seven classrooms in the school had been ripped off by a rainstorm that hit the area in April.

He said several appeals had been made to the District Assembly and other stakeholders but nothing had been done to remedy the situation.

Mr Justine Bayela Dakorah, District Director of Education for the Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo, said the inadequate classroom situation was created because the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) had not contributed to the educational infrastructure in the area.

He said it was only the District Assembly that had shouldered all the infrastructure facilities and due to limited budgetary constraints, it could not provide enough classrooms for the schools stressing that “enrolment had also increased”.

He complained that the district was faced with numerous problems confronting teaching and learning saying the absence of textbooks, teaching and learning materials amongst others were some of the problems.

Mr Dakorah confirmed that about 32 schools in the area had been affected by the April rainstorm which made classrooms difficult to use for academic work.

GNA