Students of Diaspora Girls’ Senior High School at Obodan in the Akuapem South Municipality of the Eastern Region are grappling with dire infrastructural challenges that continue to undermine teaching and learning, prompting urgent calls for intervention from the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES).

Despite a student population of about 900, the school lacks several basic facilities expected of a second-cycle institution, including an assembly hall, a library, adequate classroom blocks, and a functional dining hall.

The situation has become so severe that some students are forced to attend classes in the school’s canteen, while others receive lessons under trees due to an acute shortage of classrooms.

A concerned source at the school, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the conditions as unacceptable and detrimental to academic work.

According to the source, the canteen, which doubles as a classroom for some students during split sessions, creates an environment that is far from conducive for learning.

“The students you see here are having their classes where the canteen operates. Early in the morning, before food vendors arrive, classes are held there.

But sometimes vendors come in while lessons are ongoing and begin setting up their businesses. Imagine a lesson in progress while waakye and other foods are being prepared and sold around the students,” the source lamented.

The challenge becomes even more difficult during periods of bad weather. Students assigned to classes under trees are often left stranded whenever it rains, bringing academic activities to an abrupt halt.

“Classes go on under the trees. Once it starts raining, teaching and learning stop completely because there is nowhere else for the students to go,” the source added.

The school’s dining hall situation paints an equally worrying picture. Designed to accommodate fewer than 200 students, the facility serves a student population of approximately 900.

Parents who recently toured the facility after they had attended PTA meeting reportedly expressed shock at its condition, with some describing it as resembling a piggery rather than a dining hall for students.

As a result of the limited space, students are compelled to eat in shifts, often waiting for long periods before accessing meals. In some cases, students resort to eating at an abandoned PTA structure that remains incomplete.

The source explained that whenever the weather permits, students gather under makeshift canopies erected around the unfinished structure to take their meals. However, rainfall renders the arrangement unusable.

“Because the dining hall is too small, students sometimes eat at an uncompleted PTA structure nearby. Unfortunately, when it rains, the situation becomes chaotic because there is no adequate shelter,” the source noted.

Beyond the classroom and dining challenges, concerns have also been raised about the state of dormitory facilities, which are reportedly overstretched and in poor condition.

The growing infrastructure deficit at the school has sparked concerns among parents, teachers, and community members who fear that the learning environment is falling short of the standards needed to support quality education and the government’s commitment to improving outcomes at the secondary school level.

Stakeholders are therefore appealing to the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service, corporate bodies, development partners, and philanthropists to urgently intervene by providing additional classroom blocks, a modern dining hall, a library, an assembly hall, and improved boarding facilities.

For many at Diaspora Girls’ Senior High School, the need for intervention is no longer a matter of convenience but an urgent necessity to safeguard the quality of education and the welfare of hundreds of young girls striving for a better future.