The Education Policy Institute Africa (EDUPA) has expressed the need for government to offer psychological help to students at the Ghana Senior High School, Tamale (Ghanasco), who were housed in toilet rooms as dormitories.

According to EDUPA, coercing students to use toilet rooms as dormitories will have a psychological effect on them. As such, it is crucial for these students to be properly evaluated and assessed.

“EDUPA can establish that this act has the tendency to cause psychological effects on the academic performance of the students and propose that a psychiatric assistant is provided for the students to prevent any form of mental or emotional distress.”
Education Policy Institute Africa

Contained in a statement issued by its Executive Secretary, Mark Ewusi Arkoh, EDUPA stated that the Free SHS Programme introduced by government in 2017 provided enough accommodation facilities for Ghanasco under the FSHS Emergency Construction Programme. As a result, it reckoned that the action by the headmaster and housemaster of the school violates the fundamental rights of the children and must therefore not be allowed to go down the drain.

In light of this, EDUPA expressed the need for the relevant authorities who have begun investigation into the matter to hasten and “make its findings public to restore parents and students’ confidence in the institution”.

“We request that punishment be meted on the perpetrators of this cruel decision if facts are established to deter other heads of schools from doing same. We again require that individuals and Ghanaians allow GES to conduct its operations without interference to be able to function at its best capacity to curb any further occurrences.”
Education Policy Institute Africa

Former finance minister laments state of schools

Meanwhile, former minister of finance, Dr Kwabena Duffuor, has expressed his resentment over the viral video and report that students at Ghana Senior High School use toilets as dormitories as a result of inadequate facilities.

Lamenting the situation, Dr Duffuor recounted that as a finance minister, under the presidency of Professor John Evans Atta Mills, the government worked assiduously to ensure ample resources were provided to the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to undertake its duties.

He highlighted that his government was “to conscientiously provide a deluge of boarding facilities for existing schools, and also constructed new schools with such facilities”.

Furthermore, he stated that with the country’s objective in ensuring free education, government must “conscientiously also ensure that our children acquire education in dignity”.

Commenting on GES sanctioning of two officials of the school to step aside, Dr Duffuor equally called on policy makers to work to ensure that adequate facilities are provided “to support the educational transformation process”.

“Our beloved Motherland is the only country we have, so let us work together to build the Better Ghana we all desire and deserve.”
Dr Kwabena Duffuor

A fact-finding mission, led by the Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) in charge of Management Services, Stephen Kwaku Owusu, yesterday, April 17, 2023, visited the Ghana Senior High School following reports of a toilet facility being converted into a dormitory to house some students at the school.

The visit was to assess the accommodation situation, as well as get firsthand information on the report of a toilet cubicle being used as a dormitory. The team sought to ascertain a video which showed students sleeping in toilet cubicles that went viral, causing outrage on social media and raising concerns over the safety and well-being of the students.

During the visit, the delegation interacted with staff and students of the school. They also assessed the dormitory facilities and the said toilet facility which was purported to have been used to house some students.

The said toilet facility was confirmed to be uncompleted and never been put to use, as had been reported in the video. However, some chop boxes, mattresses, books and other personal belongings of the students were found in the cubicles of the facility.

In spite of the presence of these belongings, the authorities of the school have refuted reports that some students were using toilet cubicles as dormitories.