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The Otuam Community Day School in the Central Region

Otuam Community Day SHS not collapsing - Alorvi

The Headmaster of the John Evans Atta Mills Community Day Senior High School (SHS) at Ekumfi Otuam in the Central Region,  Mr Kwami Alorvi, has described recent reports in some sections of the media that the school was collapsing as “untrue.”

Speaking to the Daily Graphic in an interview during a visit to the school, he said reports in some sections of the media, as well as on social media that, the school, one of the 200 community day SHSs which started in September, 2015, was collapsing, was not true and should be disregarded by the public.

He said a recent report in the media, which also featured in the social media, attributed to an assembly member for the area, who was alleged to have stated that the J.E.A. Mills SHS was collapsing since about 200 pioneer students had stopped, due to astronomical school fees, was untrue.

Free SHS policy

President John Dramani Mahama launched the free SHS education policy last year, with the inauguration of the first Community Day SHS building in the Central Region, named after late Professor John Evans Atta Mills.

Thereafter, more of such schools have been commissioned by the President in areas such as Nkwanta South in the Volta Region, Babiamkor and Kwaobaah-Nyanoa in the Upper West Akim District in the Eastern Region, among others with the latest being Derma in the Brong Ahafo Region.

Mr Alorvi indicated that the news report, which stated that the charging of GH₵200 per student had forced about 200 students to stop the school, leaving the institution with a student population of only 79, was false.

He stressed that the government had absorbed about 10 items on the bill of each student and that, since they were day students, each student was paying GH₵79 per term.

He pointed out that the government was to absorb GH₵38 of the first term’s fees, GH₵54 of the second term’s and GH₵25 of the current term’s fees and that if the government credited the account of the school, the balance would be refunded to parents who had paid the GH₵79.00 per term.

According to the headmaster, as far as he was concerned, none of the students had stopped schooling and that all the 279 pioneer students of the school were always present.

Unqualified staff

In response to the allegation of unqualified teachers in the school which was also part of the said report, he noted that all the 35 teachers in the school were first degree holders in education, who were properly recruited by the Ghana Education Service (GES) after passing an interview.

He added that he could not fathom why it was reported that the teachers were unqualified which had led to poor performance of the students, noting that the school had not even written any external examinations by which it could be assessed.

He called on the public to treat the said report with the utmost contempt since authorities of the school were committed to ensuring the growth of the school to enable the government to achieve its policy of ensuring access to education at the second cycle level.

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