The Asuofua D/A Cluster of Basic Schools in the Atwima Nwabiagya North District of the Ashanti Region has been struck by a devastating dual disaster a destructive rainstorm and a fire outbreak leaving thousands of pupils without proper classrooms and vital learning materials.

According to reports, a thunder strike during a rainstorm on Monday, December 1, 2023, caused the Teachers’ Common Room to catch fire, destroying valuable educational materials including textbooks, lesson notebooks, registers and furniture. At the same time, the storm ripped off entire roofs across several classroom blocks, displacing pupils who now hold lessons under trees.

The most critical damage occurred at Block ‘A’ of the Junior High School, where a full roof detachment has forced students and teachers outdoors. The KG Block ‘D’ has also become dangerously unstable, with visible structural cracks and parts of the roofing torn off, posing serious risks to the lives of children and attendants.

A School Serving 5,000 Pupils With 1970s Infrastructure

The Asuofua D/A cluster made up of multiple streams of pre-school, primary and junior high schools serves the entire Asuofua township and nearby communities. Despite an enrolment of about 5,000 pupils, the school still relies on aging infrastructure that has barely been renovated since the 1970s. Its deteriorating condition has made it highly vulnerable to weather-related incidents, with roofs and walls giving way even during moderate storms.

This is not the first disaster. Two years ago, several classrooms also collapsed or lost their roofs after heavy rainfall. Former MP Benito Owusu Bio made interventions to re-roof some buildings, but others that completely collapsed remain abandoned to date.

Students Learning in Harsh Conditions

Headmistress of the JHS Block ‘A’, Mrs. Charity Nseibo, described the teaching environment as unsafe and demoralizing.

“We don’t feel safe. We’re in the hands of God,” she lamented, noting that teachers and students sit under trees, and classes are dismissed whenever clouds indicate more rain.

The disaster comes at a crucial period as the school prepares for its end-of-term examinations in one week. Despite the rainy season having already begun, pupils continue to study outdoors.

District Education Director Raises Alarm

The Atwima Nwabiagya North District Director of Education, Frank Duah Boateng, visited the school and expressed deep concern. He said the continued lack of support from stakeholders has left the school vulnerable and partly explains the repeated damage:

“The school was built in the 1970s and now caters for an enrolment of 5,000. We need renovation—at least replacing old roofing and strengthening structures.”

He stressed that urgent rehabilitation would help prevent future incidents.

A Growing Crisis of Congestion

Even before the disaster, overcrowding was severe, with some classrooms hosting as many as 92 pupils—more than double the standard capacity of 45. Meanwhile, a two-storey GETFund project, started five years ago to expand classroom space, has been abandoned and overtaken by weeds.

Headmistress Mrs. Nseibo has issued an urgent plea for support:

“Now we don’t have any options than to call on all and sundry to come and help.”

Education authorities and school leaders are calling on government agencies, the district assembly, NGOs and philanthropists to intervene immediately to restore safety and learning conditions for thousands of affected children.