Shit-bombing and indiscriminate dumping of refuse carried out by some unknown criminals on the compound of the Akwatia A.M.E. Zion Primary and Junior High schools, disrupted the schools’ normal classes last Monday. The entire pupils of the schools under the supervision of their teachers, the Kwaebibirem District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Yaw Yiadom Boakye, the District Director of Education, Mr Akakpo and the assembly member for the area, had to spend the whole day to clear the mess in the school. According to the Akwatia District Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Desmond Boampong, for some time now, the compound of the two schools had become the den of criminals who smoked Indian hemp, defecated and dumped large quantities of refuse and human excreta at the place. He said the mess negatively affected the academic progress of the educational institutions but the authorities failed to lodge a complaint with the police in order to flush out the criminals. DSP Boampong stated the worst thing occurred in the schools last Monday, September 24, this year. He said when the teachers and pupils entered the schools that day, some people had eased themselves on the verandas of the nine classrooms, the offices and the stores. DSP Boampong stated that they realised that the primary classes one, two and three classrooms had been broken into and the children's large water containers and washing bowls kept in the room filled with human excreta. Besides, he said, there were large quantities of faeces on the floor and the furniture in the classrooms. The District Commander stated that the Headmaster of the schools reported the matter to the DCE and the District Director of Education, who later lodged a complaint with the police after inspecting the mess, which was an eyesore. He said he initially sent a team of police personnel to the scene and later followed up to see things for himself. DSP Boampong said after they had held an emergency meeting on the issue with the opinion leaders including the assembly member for the area, the people in the vicinity were advised to form neighbourhood watch committees to keep vigilance in the area to check the recurrence of the nasty incident. He said before the meeting took place, they had advised the school children to tidy up the compound to facilitate teaching and learning, a job that took them the whole day to execute because of the volume of the faeces and the refuse. The District Commander also promised to send police personnel to patrol the place at night. He however advised the school authorities to employ a night watchman for the two institutions as a lasting solution to the problem. According to DSP Boampong, since the police started their patrol duties in the area, the criminals had put a stop to their clandestine nocturnal activities in the schools. He said the police had intensified their search for the criminals and warned that they would deal drastically with anybody found strolling around the schools at night. Source: Daily Graphic