Editorial
A.M.E Zion School cries for help to fix fence, build new classrooms
A section of students in the class
The Headmistress of the A.M.E Zion School in Koforidua Madam Salome, says that students, teaching staff and other workers feel unsecured in the school due to the lack of a fence on its boundaries.
She described an incident that occurred between a teacher and a boy in the area that belongs to a group referred to as ‘marijuana boys.’
She said that these boys have been using the classrooms as hostels, and sometimes they do not want to leave the classroom for students and teachers to start lessons.
This behaviour forced one of the teachers to confront these boys and if it had not been for God on the side of the teacher, they would have killed him.
The activities of these boys have become a nuisance in not just the school but the neighbouring parts of the town.
“Our school is not fenced, and that makes it susceptible for vehicles and motorcycles to use the campus as a road in order to avoid traffic and drive through as a shortcut route for them to reach their destination,” she added.
She said that some vehicles move with very disturbing and interrupting noise, which is very bad as it affects students’ ability to focus fully on what their teachers may be teaching at that particular time.
A student’s attention can be distracted from the lesson by the noise that comes from the moving vehicles, which can make them miss some key words or sentences that may be essential to understanding the lesson, and sometimes the teachers would have to pause for the moving vehicles to pass before they continue with the lesson.
It puts students at risk of being knocked down by the vehicles, which might result in death or deformation.
Another challenge she spoke about was the lack of chairs and tables for the students to sit on.
She said four students shares one mono desk. The classrooms are not spacious for more tables and chairs.
Talking to some of the students, they said the classrooms become very hot in the afternoon because they are many and the windows are small. This makes teaching and learning difficult for both the teachers and the students.
According to Madam Salome, this has been one major nightmare the school has been dealing with for some time now and would appreciate if the authorities treat the situation as urgent.
She said the school wishes to undertake the walling or fencing as its own project but lack the funds to do so.
She has asked for funds or any kind of support from non-governmental organisations, stakeholders, parents and concerned people to come to the aid of the school to help them put up a fence around the school.
“The wellbeing of the school children and the teachers must be paramount to all; that is why we are urging philanthropists and other organisations to come to our aid. Apart from the fence, we also need more classrooms to enable the student to learn in decent classrooms and provided with more tables and chairs.
Boakye Patricia
(Ghana Institute of Journalism)
Editorial
Check cases of drug abuse among youth of Shukura and environs
Dear Sir,
I write this letter as a concerned citizen of the country to bring to your notice the increasing rate of the intake of hard drugs by the youth of Shukura and its environs.
This issue is of great concern because of the negative impact of the hard drugs such as tobacco, cannabis and heroine on the youth in the area.
The situation has created a state of insecurity as residents find it difficult to walk around at night for fear of being attacked by these drug addicts.
Strangely, there is a police station in the community but police personnel either don’t show any interest in their activities or struggle to track their activities.
This has given them some freedom to misbehave around the area and endanger the lives of the people.
At this stage, it has become important for the residents in the community to collaborate with the police in addressing the issue.
I want to implore the police in the area to conduct patrol exercise in the area, especially at nights.
That aside, I would want to urge the authorities to embark a campaign on drug addiction in the area to let the youth know and understand the dangers and harm drugs exposes them to.
Chris Nii Narh,
Shukura
Editorial
Discuss mental health disorders among health professionals
Dear Editor,
As individuals who visit health facilities, we are always expectant of being received by medical professionals in very good moods.
These same medical professionals, including nurses, have always been on the receiving end of a backlash for failure to do so.
However, what we often fail, as citizens and patients, to realise is that these medical professionals are also humans who are faced with a lot of stress and burnout, a situation that affects their mental health.
Although there is no data on mental health of health workers in Ghana from the Mental Health Directorate of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), some research statistics could be obtained from some public research.
For instance, a comparative study conducted by researchers at the Volta Regional and Ho Teaching hospitals in August this year revealed moderate and high levels of stress among the nurses in these two hospitals.
Mental health issues among health workers in Ghana is one that is less talked about.
Its negative impact was largely felt during the COVID-19 period, when medical professionals had to work for longer hours. Imagine a nurse who is stressed out and is required to give an injection to a patient.
This is why there is the need for the government and the GHS to address the issue of mental health among medical professionals with all seriousness to avert any negative outcome.
Benjamin Arcton-Tettey,
Accra
