Ghana's schoolchildren, especially those in rural areas, face significant barriers to quality education, despite education being a widely acknowledged pathway to success.

Pupils of Kukubuso Basic School in the Atwima Mponua District of the Ashanti Region attend school with anxiety, fearing for their safety in the dilapidated classroom blocks that could collapse at any moment.

A recent visit uncovered severe damage where the two separate classroom blocks at the school are not only dilapidated and weakly grounded, but the wooden pillars are also cracking, splitting, and collapsing, and the roofs are leaking.

Established in 1985 through communal effort, the public school has stood unrenovated for decades, leaving its structure in a deplorable state, even though the school has produced notable alumni.

The dire infrastructure poses a serious danger to the safety and well-being of pupils, teachers, and visitors, undermining the overall learning environment and making it a hazard zone.

Teachers are sounding the alarm, highlighting the urgent need for improvements to ensure a secure and conducive space for education.

A teacher, Abdullah Dramani, said they close school early when it's about to rain, regardless of the time, so kids can go home safely.

Teachers and students are forced to risk their lives to teach and learn in this unstable building, with no alternative but to compromise their safety daily. 

"When it's about to rain, we ask the children to go home because we can't risk having them stay in school with these shaky buildings looming over them".

Sarfo Adubofour Gideon, another teacher, revealed that many pupils have dropped out due to fear of the buildings collapsing. 

"The school used to be packed, but now lots of pupils have dropped out and are just roaming around. They tell me they're afraid to come to school because the buildings aren't safe and might collapse on them".

Meanwhile, Mbawini Vida, the Senior Girls' Prefect of Kukubuso Basic School made a desperate plea to the authorities to intervene and save their school.

She says if the school collapses, they will have to travel a long way to other communities where they can find a school to attend.

Local leaders revealed that a new 6-unit classroom block initiated in 2015 has been abandoned for almost 10 years, despite the pressing need for it as current classrooms crumble.

Thomas Adutwum, a Unit Committee member, emphasized that the community's relentless efforts are what keep the public schools running, highlighting that without their contributions, the schools would likely cease to function, leaving the community without access to education.

He urged the government to give the contractor the green light to resume and complete the educational project.

According to him, the project is currently 60% complete, but has been abandoned and left exposed to the elements, risking further deterioration and waste of resources.