More than a year after severe storms damaged the dining facility at Adankwaman Senior High School in the Assin South District of Ghana’s Central Region, hundreds of boarding students continue to take their meals outdoors due to the collapse of the school’s dining hall.
Students have been gathering under trees near the damaged structure to eat breakfast, lunch and supper, exposing them to harsh weather conditions, dust and insects.
School authorities say the situation began after a powerful rainstorm on June 15, 2024, tore off the roof of the main dining hall. Subsequent storms later that year and heavy rains in April 2025 further damaged the structure, leaving the facility unusable.
According to the headmaster, Nana Baffour Adjei XI, the deteriorating infrastructure has become a major concern for the school, which has more than 1,200 students.
He said the school, established over four decades ago, still relies largely on aging mud-built structures that have weakened over time.
The headmaster disclosed this during a visit by Nana Okofo Kwadwo Bi Benti II, Chief of Assin Darmang and Chairman of the school’s governing board, who toured the campus with executives of the Parents-Teachers Association to assess the institution’s infrastructural needs.
The inspection coincided with a visit by Richard Kofi Asiedu, Central Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and a native of the area.
A tour of the campus revealed that meals for the entire student population are currently prepared in an open shed close to a classroom block. Cooking is done with firewood, producing thick smoke that sometimes drifts into classrooms during lessons.
Students said the conditions make both dining and studying difficult, especially during periods of rain or intense heat.
Some also expressed concerns about hygiene, noting that the open cooking environment allows insects and dust to easily contaminate food.
Beyond the dining challenge, the school also faces security concerns due to the absence of a perimeter wall.
Chief Nana Okofo Kwadwo Bi Benti II said the lack of fencing has allowed some members of the public to use the school grounds as a thoroughfare, sometimes disrupting academic activities.
He said reports indicated that some individuals enter the premises during school hours, play loud music from vehicles and occasionally harass students.
Speaking during the visit, Richard Kofi Asiedu commended the resilience of the students and staff who continue to pursue academic work despite the difficult conditions.
He assured the school of government support and appealed to philanthropists and the general public to assist in addressing the school’s pressing infrastructure challenges.
