Call for Interdiction of MoE, GES, and Ola Girls SHS Head as Students Collect “Toilet” with Buckets

MoE and GES Must Interdict Themselves and the Head of Ola Girls, SHS Ho, for making students collect “Toilet” with buckets from the school’s overflowing septic tank.

Ola Girls SHS which is located in Ho in the Volta region, its headteacher, teachers, and management need to be put to order and helped to solve its problems.

Reliable information from our authentic sources indicates that the rot that is going on in the school is more than what the headmistress of West Africa Senior High School is alleged to have engaged in leading to her interdiction by the Ghana Education Service. The GES and MoE must also be blamed for their loose leadership at the national level.

The Ghana Education Service needs to check the following happenings in Ola Girls SHS before things further get out of hand.

Students to Collect “Toilet” with Buckets in Ola Girls SHS Head

The school’s toilet facility (Septic Tank) is full and instead of it being emptied; students are punished to pound the toilet as a means of correcting them. This is not only a bad punishment, but it also lacks the application of better alternatives to solving the problem.

According to our sources, Form 1 students are most often forced to “pound the toilet” thus they act as night soil carriers and are responsible for collecting and transporting human waste, known as “night soil,” from the school for disposal. The idea behind this punishment is to ensure that the level of fecal matter goes down each time students are punished to collect it so that the toilet facility can be reused.

Again, students of the school, per our source, also complained that some teachers have become habitual absentees from classes.

While learners are also fed less nutritious food in the face of a constant shortage of water on campus. Some students of Ola Girls have confided in their parents how they (the students) have to sacrifice their food to get water to bath and to do other things on campus.

To help solve the above problems, parents raised an amount of 200,000.00 which was handed to the school. Sadly, they never got value for money and the challenges continue to persist.

At the start of the academic year, the PTA levy slapped on parents of Ola Girls SHS amounted to GHC 421 per parent or child. The breakdown includes GHC 200.00 extension (extra classes) fee and GHC 221.00 PTA Levy/Administrative Dues. During the period, some parents paid in full, while others made partial payments.

Schools such as Ola Girls SHS are compelled to do the above just to help solve problems that the government and its education agencies have failed to act on swiftly.

After all these, the problems were not solved. The question is whether the GHC 421 paid was known to the GES and MoE.

The Ghana Education Service through its regional Director of Education for the Volta region must take steps now to help empty the Ola Girls SHS overflowing septic tanks. It is also possible that the school leadership might have complained about this septic tank and water problem for so long without the GES providing any solutions.

Students to Collect “Toilet” with Buckets And Other Issues Sighted By Ghana Education News

Below are some of the messages from some parents who have raised the alarm. The GES and MoE may be sleeping and not aware of what is going on in our Senior High School, or they may be aware but have closed their eyes to the challenges and rot in our schools.

“I lent their toilet is full, and they punish form-one students to pound the toilet, so it will go down for them to reuse”

“ Good evening lovers of our children these children complained bitterly that the toilet is full to extend that they have to do this on paper and throw in, some were punished to pound the toilet before it goes down for them to use again. Please can’t t PTA (we) evacuate this?”

“ Very true. My daughter also told me that, one of the major problems of the school is water. She said sometimes, some of them have to sacrifice their food before getting water to bath.”

“They have to go and queue for a long time before getting water to bath and by the time they return, dinning is over.”

“Oh my goodness! That sounds like prison! That’s what they make prison inmates do. Come on school authorities, our children are not prisoners please.”

“That’s enough to put anyone off eating for a long time. How does pounding toilet teach anyone to be a lady? It’s sheer wickedness. Authorities, please explain to me. Please ask the seniors to put an immediate stop to this terrible thing. I will find out if they will or have put a stop to it or not… I can’t believe this”

“Exactly my concern. We paid money, our kids are suffering. What was the over 200,000.00 paid used for? We are pleading for accountability. The things our wards are telling us are horrible and unacceptable.”

“ Concerns are being raised by parents and some of these concerns and reports are very disturbing and disheartening, yet authorities on this platform are not responding to some of these wide allegations to prevent this from escalating and damaging the image and reputation of the school. Pls, let us paint the true picture of the school. I am not sure our girls are now used as conservancy labourers.”

“On the day of reopening, a newsletter was given to parents/guardians of Freshers detailing some financial responsibility of parents/guardians towards their children and the PTA.”

“The total amount is GHC 421.00 for the 2023 academic year. The breakdown includes GHC 200.00 extension (extra classes) fee and GHC 221.00 PTA Levy/Administrative Dues. During the period, some parents paid in full while others made partial payments.”

“the Leadership of the PTA passionately appeals to parents/guardians who have not yet paid any amount or made partial payments to please take urgent steps to pay to continue with the programs and activities of the Association.”

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The Way Forward, Proactive Action Needed

The GES and MoE must bow their heads in shame for failing to provide the needed leadership from the national level. It is prudent that we put in place as a government a National Schools Utility Management Agency or Department (Facilities Management Department or simply Facilities Department) which will be empowered to provide timely services in the area of Water, Toilet Facility, and Electricity management in our schools.

This, if done, should bring efficiency, timeliness, and top-notch service. A private Public partnership can be the best approach to dealing with these challenges.

The GES must through the Regional Director of Education, put in place a “serious” committee to investigate the issue and provide solutions to the problem captured in this publication.

The practice of schools turning their inefficiencies into punishment for learners must stop and be replaced with proactive and forward-looking strategies.

Forcing Students to Collect “Toilet” with Buckets In The Name Of Punishment or To Correct Behaviour Is Wrong.