Zamse Senior High Technical School (ZAMSTECH) in Bolgatanga of the Upper East Region is in deplorable state and in dire need of classroom furniture for both students and teachers.The lamentable situation is severely hindering the smooth learning of the over 2,609 students attending the school.The furniture shortage in particular has compelled students to resort to sitting on blocks, gallons, and even the bare floor, creating an unconducive learning environment for the junior members of the school.A source from the school told The Ghanaian Times the negative impact the lack of furniture was having on the students' academic performance.•Form one students sitting on the floor while taking a lesson in the classroomSome students taking lesson notesStudents resort to sitting on the floor to take lessons•Some students sitting by the edges of the classroom to take down notesAccording to the anonymous source, the Parent -Teacher Association (PTA) of the school donated 600 dual desks to support classroom engagement as well as ease the plight of students.The source said discipline was a major challenge on campus.The Headmaster of the school, Mr Simon Anabah, corroborated the issues in an interview with The Ghanaian Times on Friday.He said the situation compelled the management of the school to reduce student intake from 1,000 to 800 in the 2024/2025 academic year."In the 2023/2024 academic year, we admitted 1,009 students, but the furniture crisis pressurised us to limit the number to a little over 800", he lamented.Mr Anabah disclosed that apart from the lack of furniture in the classrooms, the dining hall also had inadequate tables and benches.Meanwhile, a new dining hall project is under construction in addition to other projects, including a 12-unit dormitory block, and 12-unit classroom which had been stalled, posing serious threat to the academic progress of the school.He explained that the 12-unit dormitory block, funded by Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), for instance had been abandoned since 2014.He, therefore, called on government to as a matter of urgency, engage the contractor to return to site and complete the project.Furthermore, Mr Anabah also pleaded with relevant authorities and stakeholders, such as old students, the PTA, non-governmental organisations, philanthropic individuals, and other development partners to come to the support of the school.Reacting to the 'sorry' state of the school infrastructure, some of the students said the situation required government's urgent intervention.According to Hamdia Wumpini Yakubu, a First year student in the General Arts department, the furniture crisis had affected their academic work so much that they performed abysmally in their end of semester exams."Because of the issue of lack of chairs and tables in the whole juniors' block, we have to spread out clothes, put the books on our laps while we copy notes.
What is more enduring is that, during exams, we wait for our seniors to write their paper before we have access to their classes and take ours," Miss Yakubu explained.Another student, Sophia Kabre Ananga, indicated that the pride of the students had reduced to nothing, as they lie on their bellies to undertake class exercises. FROM FRANCIS DABRE DABANG, BOLGATANGA
