The protracted conflict in the Bunkpurugu Constituency has escalated into a full-blown human resource crisis, severely crippling education and healthcare services in the area.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency, Hon. Abednego Bandim, has revealed that a persistent refusal by teachers, nurses, and National Service Personnel from outside the area to accept or remain in their postings has led to the collapse of local schools, with some closing down entirely.
Addressing the Bimoba Students Union, Hon. Bandim detailed the dire consequences of the instability, lamenting that several schools, from the basic level right up to Junior High School, are operating without adequate teaching staff. He warned that this security-driven exodus threatens to undermine the future of the local youth.
“Because of conflicts, people from other parts of the country don’t like accepting postings to Bunkpurugu. When they post a teacher to Bunkpurugu, they don’t want to go. Even National Service, for one year, they don’t accept posting”
Hon. Abednego Bandim, MP for Bunkpurugu
The MP painted a grim picture of the situation, explaining that while security agencies have struggled to enforce lasting peace, non-indigenous professionals view the area as unsafe. This perception, he argued, has rendered the traditional posting mechanisms of the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ghana Health Service ineffective.
He further explained that even those who initially accept the postings are merely doing so out of desperation. Once the individuals secure their employment, they seek immediate transfers, resulting in a continuous, debilitating drain of qualified staff. The effect on the classroom is profound.
“You see a school from primary one to six and JHS one, two, three, and there’s only one teacher. Only one teacher and there’s the head teacher. As we speak, there are no teachers and some of the schools have closed down because of conflicts. Our future leaders are not in school as we speak”
Hon. Abednego Bandim, MP for Bunkpurugu
The MP acknowledged that the District Director of Education has urged him to tour the area to empirically observe the extent of the teacher vacancies, underscoring the severity of the crisis.
Indigenization Proposal
Faced with this institutional failure, Hon. Bandim has tabled a strategic proposal before the Minister of Education: the prioritization of qualified indigenes from the Bunkpurugu constituency for recruitment into the teaching and nursing professions.
His argument is rooted in necessity and practicality, stressing that local professionals are inherently more willing to weather the instability and remain committed to serving their communities, a commitment that non-indigenes simply cannot be expected to make given the risks.
The MP views this as an immediate, stop-gap measure to restore basic education and healthcare while the broader peace process takes root.
Adding to the educational crisis is the persistent technological barrier facing students.
During the address to the Bimoba Students Union, the Union’s Secretary, Laar Yoobaar, seized the moment to appeal to Hon. Bandim, in his capacity as the Chairman of the Communication and Information Committee of Parliament, to leverage his authority to resolve longstanding network connectivity challenges.
Mr. Yoobaar noted that poor network access severely hampers academic work and digital learning opportunities for students in the area, creating a double-whammy of inadequate teaching resources and a crippled modern learning environment.
“We have been suffering from network challenges. And as someone who is the chairman of the communication committee, I think you can leverage your authority to get some of the network to mitigate the challenges that we are facing”
Laar Yoobaar, Bimoba Students Union Secretary
Ultimately, the Hon. Bandim concluded that while strategic recruitment and better network access can offer temporary relief, the fundamental solution remains the restoration of lasting peace.
He expressed his profound worry over the situation and issued a passionate final plea to all stakeholders, including the media, to unify their voice and appeal to the local people and the government to work collaboratively to resolve the conflicts.
“I am very, very worried about it. And it is only me and some other stakeholders, including you, the media, who can come together and speak with one voice to appeal to our people and government to work together to bring peace to the area”
Hon. Abednego Bandim, MP for Bunkpurugu
The crisis in Bunkpurugu serves as a stark reminder that prolonged civil instability quickly undermines the basic foundations of state services, threatening to forfeit the future of an entire generation.
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