Wa East Assembly hands over completed 6-unit classroom block abandoned since 2016 at Jeyiri

The Wa East District Assembly has completed and handed over a previously abandoned six-unit classroom block to the chiefs and people of Jeyiri, ending nearly a decade of severe infrastructural deficits in the farming community.

The facility, which includes a staff common room and a dedicated space for an ICT laboratory or library, was originally initiated under the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) in 2016. Work stalled at the lintel level following the 2016 general elections until the current administration revived it using allocations from the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) dedicated to legacy projects.

Speaking at the handing-over ceremony, Wa East District Chief Executive Adamu Sayibu explained that the intervention formed part of presidential directives to retool educational infrastructure and systematically complete uncompleted state assets.
"When we took overpower, we realized that for the past eight years, most of our schools have not been renovated. There have been a number of abandoned projects across the country, especially in the Wa East District," Shibu noted.

According to him, the district inherited 43 abandoned projects under the Northern Development Authority (NDA) and four under GETFund. "This particular facility was our old baby. We gave birth to this project in 2016, and we have come back to support the baby to grow. With this investment, teachers and pupils have no excuse not to perform in subsequent BECE examinations," he added.

The completion of the six-unit block has triggered a broader restructuring of the basic education stream in Jeyiri. The Member of Parliament for the area renovated and fenced an additional three-unit block into a dedicated Kindergarten (KG) facility, while the Junior High School (JHS) students have relocated into the vacated old primary block. Despite the significant physical improvement, the school faces an acute teacher deficit.

Headteacher of Jeyiri Primary and KG, Musah Lahadew, revealed that only three teachers currently manage the entire student population spanning KG1 to Basic 6. "We are having a very big challenge with staffing. We have only three teachers for six primary classrooms plus two KG classes. As we speak, we can only occupy three of the new classrooms because there are no teachers for the remaining three," Lahadew stated.

He further lamented the absence of decent accommodation, noting that newly posted teachers face severe housing struggles in the village while non-resident teachers commute long distances, leading to chronic lateness.
Responding to the concerns, the Deputy Director in charge of Administration and Finance at the Wa East Ghana Education Service (GES) Directorate, Tahiru Mohammed, admitted that staffing levels remain inadequate and pledged immediate administrative action.

"Receiving this structure today will enhance learning, though the staffing is inadequate. We are going to discuss this deficit when we get back to the office to see how best to assist the school," Mohammed said. Mohammed disclosed that the primary school currently has an enrollment of approximately 425 pupils, while the JHS has 155 students. He noted that the newly expanded space would curb seasonal truancy, where classroom congestion previously drove pupils out of school and into commercial farm labour.

The Assembly Member for Jeyiri and Chief of Sagu, Iddi Ngmengu Abdulai, commended the assembly and central government for the project, recounting that the historical lack of classrooms once forced him to migrate to Tuna in the Savannah Region just to complete his basic education.

District Engineer Fatau Mumuni confirmed that civil works, including full roofing, ceiling installation, electrical wiring, and finishing, stand fully executed, with electricity meter installation by VRA/NEDCo expected in the coming days.a

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