Headmistress calls for help to fence Achimota School
Achimota School recorded four murder cases on the school’s compound between September and October 2015.
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Besides the murder cases, there have been a number of thefts in the school including the vandalisation of the renovated school kitchen and removal of louvre blades, electrical and plumbing fittings by strangers.
Real threats
The headmistress of the school, Mrs Beatrice Adom, who made this known in her report at the school’s 88th Speech and Prize-giving Day in Accra last Saturday, said the incidents were “real threats, frightening and worrisome” to members of the school community.
Although none of the deceased were students of the school, she said authorities were worried and called for action to be taken before students became victims.
The deceased, she said, were mainly strangers on the school compound. Mrs Adom further explained that the police confirmed that the cases were murder after they were alerted and investigations conducted.
The first incident, she said, involved a woman whose body was found near the games field of the school. In another case, the body of a beheaded toddler was found.
As the school continued to grapple with the problem of encroachment, Mrs Adom said the security of the staff and students was at risk.
Achimota School has been battling with encroachment of its lands by churches, estate developers and the displaced residents of Sodom and Gomorrah, who have relocated and are occupying some portions of the school’s land.
The headmistress indicated that about 172.68 acres of the school land earmarked for expansion works, had been taken over by encroachers. The squatters, she said, were gradually getting closer to the school’s facilities, especially the newly constructed Millennium Dormitory Block.
The plea
She, therefore, appealed to the Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, parents and old students of the school to help fence the school to save their lives and property.
“Achimota School is a national asset and a world historical heritage, hence the land needs to be protected. Posterity will judge our generation adversely if we refuse to harness what was handed over to us during our tenure as custodians of national assets,” she stated.
The school, she added, continued to face inadequate water supply and indicated that in spite of the Accra Sewage Implementation Project (ASIP), raw sewage still flowed in some parts of the school, especially on the western compound.
Change curriculum
Delivering the keynote address, Madam Irene Asiedu, the Head of Human Resource and Administration at ESICH Life Assurance Co. Ltd, said the school curriculum must change.
She said emphasis should be placed on the importance of values and community service, stressing that the change must go in tandem with renewed focus on quality.
“To this end, the government’s drive to build 200 senior high schools should be matched by investments in improving accessibility, teaching standards and overall quality,” she stated.
In a related development, the 1989 Year group of the Old Achimotans Association, has donated four motorbikes to the school’s security to assist them in their patrol duties.
The motorbikes, worth GH¢12,000 is to help fight crime on the school’s compound.