According to the Headmistress of the School, Hajia Mariama Mohammed, the over 1,500 student population has only 6-seater toilet facility and one twin bathhouse for their use.
Let us remember, that these are girls; we must not expose them to any form of danger, she said, adding “I said this at one of our PTA Executive meetings last term, and after a visit to the nearest bush the team found it expedient to build the school a 20-seater toilet facility without delay. That project is currently ongoing and is at window level,” the headmistress mentioned.
Delivering a report at the Second Speech and Prize Giving Day Celebration of Pagnaa, Hajia Mariama appealed to the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly for another 20-seater toilet facility in order to accommodate the problem and to also keep the environment safe from the outbreak of any epidemic, which she noted, could be eminent. The celebration which was under the theme: “Educating the girl-child for development: The role of Tamale Girls Senior High”, also coincided with the inauguration of the school’s cadet corps.
An improved sanitation facility is one that hygienically separates human excreta from human contact. An improved drinking-water source is one that by the nature of its construction adequately protects the source from outside contamination, in particular from faecal matter. The Tamale Girls SHS has no good source of drinking water on its campus except to depend on water tanker services and a dam outside the school premises. The inadequate number of toilet facilities available for use has compelled most students to defecate in nearby bushes around the school.
Thus, the prevailing situation at Pagnaa per the headmistress report definitely puts the entire student population at risk of contracting cholera, Hepatitis A or E which modes of transmission are often linked to poor sanitation practices such as open defecation and others. In other words, eating or drinking water mixed with an infected person’s excreta could lead to Hepatitis A or E infections, which are both serious liver diseases.
Among other challenges facing the school include lack of sporting facilities and laboratory equipment as well as inadequate ICT and library facilities to complement teaching. As a result, the school authourities have adopted a shift system regarding the use of the library and ICT centre which are so small in size whereas science students travelled to Ghana Senior High School (Ghanasco) for their practicals.
Hajia Mariama further appealed to the public and benevolent organizations to help the school build structures for the harvest of rain water so as to enable them overcome the erratic or acute water problem on campus. She equally called on government to provide the school with modern science laboratory equipments and teachers bungalows to ensure quality tuition and discipline on campus.
The Minister for Communications and Member of Parliament for Tamale South Constituency, Haruna Iddrisu who was at the event, promised to put up an ultra modern ICT centre and also help the school develop its sports field to nurture talents in various disciplines.
From a humble and struggling beginning in 1998 with an initial modest enrollment figure of 64 girls, the school currently occupies a 74 acre piece of land in a community called Wamale, off the Tamale-Yendi road. And for four consecutive years now, Tamale Girls SHS or Pagnaa has recorded 100% at the annual West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
Moreover, from a heavily burdened 36 teachers, the number has grown to 72 and increasing their effectiveness. The Ghana Education Trust Fund is constructing a 12-unit one-storey classroom block for the school. Other projects under construction include a 2-storey dormitory block, a 6-unit classroom block and a fence wall.
The Deputy Minister for Women and Children’s Affairs Hajia Hawawu Boya-Gariba who was Guest of Honour, called for a holistic approach towards female education in Northern Ghana in order to boost their confident levels in the face of numerous challenges in society.
According to her, despite numerous interventions being put in place by government and non-governmental organizations to increase enrollment levels of females in school in the Northern Region in particularly, the situation had not significantly improved.
She noted for instance, that in 2002 and 2003, 76% of girls were in primary school, 55% in Junior High Schools and 48% in Senior High Schools and the situation remained like that up till 2008. Adding that, it was shock when a Ghana Demographic and Health Survey revealed that 65% of females had no form of formal education in the region and that for those in school, 74% of the girls could not read and less than 7% progresses beyond the SHS.
Meanwhile, a total of eighty-two (82) students were awarded for excelling in various subject areas with Miss Laafia P. Grace, a final year student emerging as the overall best student. Like her colleagues, she was given a certificate and books.
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