A three-unit classroom block at Kamalo D/A Junior High School in the Kwahu Afram Plains North District in the Eastern Region has been abandoned due to severe bat infestation. 

The facility was completed in 2021 with funding from petroleum revenues through the annual budget funding amount (ABFA). However, the absence of a ceiling has allowed bats to occupy the building, leaving classrooms filled with droppings and a strong stench that has made teaching and learning difficult.

As a result, the headmaster and the only other teacher at the school now conduct lessons for pupils, from kindergarten to junior high school, in a three-unit open-sided pavilion constructed by the former Member of Parliament for Afram Plains North, Betty Krosbi Mensah.

This situation has led to the combining of classes and placed additional strain on teaching and learning activities.

The school  which serves about 197 pupils from Kamalo, also caters to children from the neighbouring communities of Richard Kope and Sokpe, both located nearly four kilometres from Kamalo.

This came to light when a team from the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) inspected the facility as part of its monitoring and evaluation of projects funded through petroleum revenues in the Eastern Region.

The inspection formed part of a six-day exercise undertaken simultaneously by three PIAC teams in the Eastern, Volta, and Oti regions, covering the Kwahu Afram Plains North and South, Ketu North and South, and Biakoye and Jasikan districts.

The teams were accompanied by officials from the respective metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDAs) during the inspections.

Facility abandoned

The headmaster of the school, Samuel Offei, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, stated the bat infestation had rendered the facility unusable, denying pupils and teachers access to the new infrastructure.

He explained that although the classroom block had initially been used by pupils and teachers, it became uninhabitable after bats took over the facility due to the absence of a ceiling.

He said the bats occupied the roof space and left droppings across the classrooms every night, making the environment unsuitable for teaching and learning.

“The learners and teachers wanted to use the facility, but the bat infestation made it impossible. Every morning, the classrooms were littered with droppings, and the stench was unbearable,” he said.

He said the school stopped using the facility around late 2024 and had since relocated classes to an open-sided pavilion structure within the school compound.

He added that the situation had negatively affected classroom organisation and academic activities as different classes had to be combined because of the inadequate space.

Mr Offei stated that the relocation to the temporary structure had contributed to declining attendance among pupils from the two communities, as many parents were reluctant to allow their children to walk long distances only to study in limited conditions.

The head teacher explained that the school had considered acquiring a tricycle to transport pupils from the outlying communities to improve attendance and reduce absenteeism.

He said community leaders and residents had discussed possible ways of supporting the initiative, including undertaking communal economic activities to raise funds for the transportation arrangement.

PIAC observations

Members of the PIAC team, who inspected both the abandoned classroom block and the temporary learning structure, expressed concern about the conditions under which teaching and learning were taking place.

They stated that the facility had been constructed with public funds and, therefore, required timely maintenance and remedial works to ensure value for money and safeguard the investment.

The committee said the situation underscored the need for urgent intervention to make the classroom block habitable and address the teacher shortage confronting the school.