Residents of Goripie in the Wa East District of the Upper West Region have expressed concern over the poor condition of teachers’ accommodation in the community, warning that the situation is negatively affecting teaching and learning.
According to residents, the deteriorating state of the teachers’ quarters at Goripie E/A Primary School has made it difficult to attract and retain teachers. While some teachers reportedly reject postings to the area, others choose to live in nearby communities and commute to school daily.
Residents fear the accommodation challenge could continue to undermine education delivery and affect pupils’ academic performance if urgent action is not taken.
In an interview with Channel One TV, the residents appealed to the government and other stakeholders to provide decent accommodation for teachers to help improve education outcomes in the community.
Issahaku Mohammed, a resident of Goripie, said some teachers posted to the community are unwilling to stay because of the poor accommodation situation.
“Some teachers posted here do not stay because of accommodation challenges. During the rainy season in particular, they are unable to come to school regularly because they rent outside the community. We are therefore appealing to the government to come to our aid,” he said.
Another resident, Salifu Abdul Subur, said the lack of teachers’ accommodation was affecting the quality of education in the area.
“Our children’s education is at stake because there is no teachers’ accommodation. Some teachers rent outside the community and, as a result, do not report to school regularly. We are calling on the government to help us with teachers’ accommodation,” he appealed.
Several years ago, members of the community mobilised communal labour and local resources to construct teachers’ quarters to support staff posted to the school.
However, the Assembly Member for the Goripie Electoral Area, Mohammed Awal, said the structure has deteriorated over time, making it unsuitable and unattractive to some newly posted teachers.
“Most of the teachers posted to this community rent in distant communities, because of a lack of proper structures for them to stay. We’re appealing to the government to come to our aid by renovating or constructing new quarters,” he appealed.
Goripie E/A Primary School is one of the basic schools serving children within the Goripie Electoral Area in the Wa East District. The school was established to provide accessible basic education to children in Goripie and surrounding communities, reducing the long distances pupils previously had to travel to attend school.
Despite ongoing infrastructure and accommodation challenges, the school has, over the years, played a significant role in education delivery in the area.
