Lack of toilet facilities impede academic progress at Odomase Presbyterian JHS

Lack of toilet facilities and washrooms are impeding academic progress at the Odomase Presbyterian Junior High School at Odomase Number One in the Sunyani West Municipality. According to Mrs Mavis Afowaa, the Headmistress, the school's toilets for students and teachers remained unused for some years now because of its deplorable and unhygienic condition. The appalling situation, she added, compelled the school children and some teachers to either go back home to visit the nature call or ease themselves, or use the nearby bush as places of convenience. In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Odomase Number One, Mrs Afowaa described the situation worrying, having a huge toll on girls and female teachers of the school. She said the school had no washrooms for girls to change themselves, saying because of that, many of the girls failed to attend classes when they were in their menstrual periods. For some years now, Mrs Afowaa said the school had not benefited from any government project or rehabi litation work, with many of the classrooms fast deteriorating and serving as death traps to the school children. Virtually, all the roofing of the classrooms has leakages and sometimes the school had to be closed during the wet seasons, she stated, and appealed to the Ghana Education Trust Fund and the Sunyani West District Assembly to come to their aid. Mrs Afowaa said the school's contributions to the growth and development of education in the area and beyond remained exceptional, saying it also required an ICT laboratory to advance the teaching and learning of the subject. She therefore called on wealthy natives of the town, home and abroad in particular, philanthropic individuals and organisations as well as corporate bodies to also assist the school. Source: Ghana News Agency