In a shocking revelation, a goat gave birth inside one of the classrooms over the weekend. On Monday morning, children returned to find blood stains and droppings where they were expected to sit and learn. The school lacks desks and chairs, forcing pupils in Kindergarten 1 and 2, and Primary 1 and 2, to sit directly on the dirty, unsanitized floor.

"This is how the children sit – on the bare floor. Sometimes, I sit down with them," said Abu Halilu, a teacher at the school. "Even when we lock the doors, intruders break in and defecate inside. We've complained to the Assembly, but there’s been no response."

Another classroom, used to store books, reeks of rat urine, faeces, and rainwater, making it almost impossible for both teachers and students to breathe or concentrate.

The situation is not any better at the Junior High School (JHS) block, where pupils learn under a makeshift shed, with one whiteboard awkwardly separating Forms 1, 2, and 3. When it rains, classes are suspended due to the lack of walls and proper roofing.

“When it rains, we close the school,” said Ziblila Mohammad, Headteacher of Jinlo JHS. “Noise from outside disrupts learning. One shout, one car horn, and attention is gone. Our enrollment is dropping – only two pupils were promoted to JHS this year.”

With just three usable classrooms for eight classes, the school is forced to combine multiple grade levels in the same room, severely affecting the quality of education.

"We’ve had no renovation since the school was built in 2000," added Abdul Rahaman Yakubu, Headteacher of the primary school. "Several high-profile visits have yielded nothing but paperwork."

Despite repeated appeals, the local government has yet to respond with tangible action.

“This is not a place any Minister or MP would want their child to be in,” Abu Halilu said. “But these children, they also have dreams. If help doesn’t come soon, their future is at risk.”

The situation at Jinlo underscores a broader crisis in access to quality education in rural Ghana. As part of JoyNews’ education series Crumbling Start, the report raises urgent questions about how long pupils in places like Jinlo will continue to be forgotten.

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