17 Schoolchildren drowning in 5 months unacceptable - Eduwatch
An advocacy organisation, Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch), has described as unacceptable the death of 17 schoolchildren through drowning in a space of four months in two districts.
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Eight of the pupils were killed tragically on January 25, 2023 at Atitagorme/Wayokope in the Sene East District in the Bono East Region, while nine others lost their lives last Wednesday, May 10, 2023 at Fanaa in the Ga South Municipality of the Greater Accra Region.
“It is unacceptable that within a space of four months in only two districts, 17 poor children have lost their lives in their quest to claim their right to basic education.
“We reiterate our call on the Ghana Education Service, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to develop a road map towards immediately providing life jackets for pupils and teachers in island communities, liaise with the relevant local authorities to strengthen health and safety compliance, and construct schools in island communities. Parliamentary oversight on this matter is very much required,” the organisation said in reaction to the latest disaster in Accra.
Information
It said its preliminary information from community leaders indicated that there were no life jackets.
“On January 25, 2023, when a similar tragic incident happened in Atitagorme/Wayokope (Sene East) killing eight pupils, Eduwatch issued a statement requesting the Ministry of Education and the GES to urgently mobilise and supply life jackets to all pupils and teachers in island communities, while working to establish schools in these underserved island communities.
Eduwatch also called for increased collaboration between the GES and local authorities to strengthen health and safety compliance at landing bases where students boarded canoes to and from school.
“Rather, the GES supplied only 100 life jackets to Atitagorme and Wayokope, where the eight pupils had died, leaving the other island communities,” it said.
Nine schoolchildren last Wednesday drowned at Fanaa, a suburb of Bortianor in the Ga South Municipality after the canoe transporting them from school capsized in a canal.
Eight of the bodies of the children aged between one-and-half and 12 were recovered at about 6 p.m. that same day of the incident, while the last one, a female named only as Victoria, was retrieved on Thursday at about 11:30 a.m.
Deceased
The deceased --three males and six females-- were part of a group of 12 children who were on board the canoe when it capsized.
However, the remaining three, including the paddler of the canoe, survived the disaster.
The children, who lived with their parents and guardians at Fanaa, Bortianor (in Ga South), are pupils of a private school at Wiaboman behind Pambros (in Weija-Gbawe).
The children were crossing a canal, which separates Faanaa from Wiaboman after school, when the incident occurred.
