A former chairman of the National Disability Council, Andrew Okaikoi has come to the rescue of the Mampong Senior High Technical School for the Deaf by paying half of the 14 thousand Ghana cedis rent arrears owed the landlords.
Andrew Okaikoi said he was moved by the plight of the students after he watched a Joy News story about the situation in the school.
The owners of the properties which accommodates the school have threatened to throw out the over 200 students and their teachers unless they make good their rent which has been in default for more than two years.
The Ghana Education Service meanwhile is yet to decide on how to support the school.
Al Wahab, a friend to the former chairman of the national disability council made the donation on his behalf.
“We are very disappointed and sad by what we have seen in this school. Is 14,000 Ghana cedis so big enough that student of this school should be evicted? I think we shouldn’t adopt this kind of “speed rump” approach to solving issues in this country. We need to identify such schools in the country and help them” He said.
The Assemblyman for the area, Okraku Oku who witnessed the donation in the presence of the students and staff was grateful for the gesture and urged other corporate institutions to come to the aid of the school.
The school’s head prefect, Prince Mocha also expressed gratitude on behalf of the students.
“People are now hearing about our developmental problems. Now we have the hope that we can live in the school. We think in the future, the school will develop” the head prefect said.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Education Service says it is taking steps to address the challenges confronting students of the school.
Deputy Director of Education, Stephen Adu says the GES is still undecided about whether to relocate the school or buy out the property.
“We are looking at all the various options available to us to see which of the options will be very appropriate. So discussions have started and I can assure you that we will work to the letter to ensure that everything comes to an end”
The school is the only one in the country providing secondary and technical training for hearing and speech impaired students.
Besides the challenge of operating from rented classrooms and dormitories that are congested, the lecture halls lack places of convenience and the students and pupils also have to trek some 2 kilometres every day, risking their lives along the busy Aburi Mampong highway for lectures.
