The Binduri Community Day Senior High School in the Upper East Region has been shut down following protest by students over lack of food.
On Tuesday, July 11, 2023, some agitated students boycotted classes to protest and express their displeasure about the inability of the school’s administration to provide them with the one hot meal daily for some time now.
Sources within the school have told Graphic Online’s Gilbert Mawuli Agbey that since May 29, 2023, the caterer stationed in the school had not been able to cook for the students leaving the students to their own fate.
The caterer is said to have abandoned her duty in the school citing non-payment of arrears owed her by the government, a development which had virtually made it impossible for her to continue to cook for the students.
As a result, some of the students abandoned classes with the reason that they could not come to school to study on an empty stomach. With a total of about 600 students in the school, 200 were regular in school due to the situation in the school.
We are suffering
Speaking during the protest against the happenings in the school, some of the students said they were suffering as they had been denied their daily food for more than a month now, saying what is very worrying is that due to the shortage of food, we have been compelled one kind of food throughout the whole week”.
One of the said “ it is very sad that we are sometimes forced to eat Banku and okro stew throughout the whole week” and therefore called on the ministry of education and the government to take immediate steps to address the issue to pave the way for the caterer’s return.
A first year female student called on the government to provide them with their school uniforms and other attires since it was long overdue, saying “ we also demand the construction of a place of convenience since we can no longer attend to nature’s call in bushes around the school”.
Calm down
The Binduri District Director of Education, John Doka Jaggery, who visited the school during the protest, said although the protest was intended to register their concerns, it was important for them to calm down as it would be addressed.
Subsequently, he asked the students to stay home until the issues they have raised were resolved.
“If you are not ready to go back to the classroom to continue with academic work, then remain home until you are informed to come back to school.”
“I wish to assure you that the directorate will meet the management of the school and the caterer to resolve the issue to pave the way for the reopening of the school hopefully by Monday July 17, 2023”.
Meanwhile, the final year students are currently in school writing their mock examination in preparation towards this year’s West Africa Senior Secondary Certification Examination (WASSCE).
