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By Justice Ahoto
Severe infrastructural decay, land encroachment and growing security threats are crippling academic work at Tema Community 2 No. 4 Basic School, with pupils and teachers grappling daily with conditions described as unsafe and unfit for effective learning.
Classrooms are routinely inundated during rainfall due to a deteriorating roofing system, forcing the suspension of lessons as pupils scramble to avoid leaking water. Contact hours are lost anytime it rains, disrupting academic schedules and affecting performance.
The absence of a perimeter fence has further exposed the campus to multiple risks. Portions of the school land have been encroached upon by squatters, while cattle rearers have taken over parts of the compound, leaving pupils to compete with livestock for space during school hours. Drivers navigating heavy traffic along the Harbour Road reportedly use the school compound as a shortcut, endangering students.
The open campus has also become a congregation point for weed smokers, hawkers and mentally unstable persons, creating security and sanitation concerns. Residents are said to dump refuse on parts of the premises, compounding the environmental challenges.
Established in 1962, the school has reportedly not seen any major renovation in over six decades, despite producing several prominent personalities in society.
The deteriorating state of the facility prompted the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the Tema West Municipal Assembly, Mr. Ludwig Teye Totimeh, to lead a team to inspect the school.
Following the tour, Mr. Totimeh directed all encroachers to vacate the school land with immediate effect, warning that defaulters would face the law. He assured authorities that engineers from the Assembly would be dispatched to take measurements and commence remedial works, including the construction of a fence wall and the replacement of the damaged roofing before the peak of the rainy season.
“We cannot allow school lands to be taken over while our children suffer. Immediate steps will be taken to restore order and improve infrastructure,” he stated.
The MCE also ordered the Municipal Environmental Health Officer to evacuate heaps of refuse dumped on the compound and disclosed that the school had been captured under a list of selected institutions earmarked for fencing within the municipality.
During the inspection, he confronted individuals rearing cattle on the premises and asked them to vacate or face legal action.
Meanwhile, the Assembly Member for the Hacrow Electoral Area, Mr. Rexford Agyekum, pledged to follow up to ensure swift implementation of the directives.
Parents and school authorities have expressed hope that the Assembly’s intervention will restore the image and safety of the historic institution and create a conducive environment for teaching and learning.
