A three-unit classroom block at Kamalo D/A Junior High School in the Kwahu Afram Plains North District of the Eastern Region has been abandoned because it has been taken over by bats.
The classroom block was completed in 2021 with money from Ghana’s petroleum revenues through the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA).
However, because the building has no ceiling, bats have moved into the roof space.
Their droppings cover the classrooms, and the strong smell has made the building unsafe and uncomfortable for teaching and learning.
Because of this, the headmaster and the school’s only other teacher now teach all pupils, from kindergarten to junior high school, in a three-unit open-sided pavilion built by the former Member of Parliament for Afram Plains North, Betty Krosbi Mensah.
The limited space has forced the school to combine several classes, making teaching and learning more difficult.
The school has about 197 pupils from Kamalo and also serves children from the nearby communities of Richard Kope and Sokpe, which are almost four kilometres away.
The situation came to light when a team from the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) visited the school to inspect projects funded with petroleum revenues in the Eastern Region.
The visit was part of a six-day inspection carried out by three PIAC teams across the Eastern, Volta, and Oti regions. The teams visited projects in the Kwahu Afram Plains North and South, Ketu North and South, and Biakoye and Jasikan districts.
Officials from the various Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) joined the PIAC teams during the inspections.
School Forced to Abandon the Facility
The headmaster, Samuel Offei, told the Daily Graphic that the bat infestation had made the classroom block unusable, preventing both teachers and pupils from using the new building.
He explained that the school had used the classrooms for some time after they were completed, but the situation changed when bats settled in the roof because there was no ceiling.
He said the bats stayed in the roof space and left droppings all over the classrooms every night, making the environment unhealthy for learning.
“The learners and teachers wanted to use the facility, but the bat infestation made it impossible. Every morning, the classrooms were littered with droppings, and the stench was unbearable,” he said.
He said the school stopped using the building around late 2024 and moved all classes to the open-sided pavilion on the school compound.
He added that the lack of classroom space had disrupted teaching because different classes now had to learn together.
Mr Offei also said attendance had dropped, especially among pupils from Richard Kope and Sokpe.
According to him, many parents were unwilling to let their children walk such long distances only to study in overcrowded and uncomfortable conditions.
The headmaster said the school had discussed buying a tricycle to transport pupils from the nearby communities. He believes this would improve attendance and reduce absenteeism.
He added that community leaders and residents had talked about raising money through communal economic activities to help pay for the transport.
