BISHOP INSPECTS HO SCHOOL FACILITIES (PAGE 46, NOV 8, 2010)

The Right Reverend Francis Anani Lodonu, Bishop of Ho Diocese, has undertaken a familiarisation tour of schools under his diocese to acquaint himself with their readiness to accommodate fresh students.
The day's tour took him round five Roman Catholic schools, namely O.L.A. Girls' Senior High School, Mater Ecclesiae School at Sokode-Gbogame, Bishop Herman Boys College (BIHECO) at Kpando and St Mary's Seminary Senior High School (SMASCO) at Lolobi-Kumasi.
During the tour, Rt. Revd Lodonu learnt the various interventions by the schools authorities to accommodate the students since the new structures intended for them were at various stages of completion.
At OLA, which was his first port of call where he was briefed by Mrs Benedicta Afesi, Headmistress of the school, he was told that the school received 275 new students and that certain structures had been converted into classrooms and dormitories.
At the Mater Ecclesiae School, Rev. Sister Peace Omega said the school, which started in 1993 with 30 students, now had a population of 439.
She said though the school was one of the best in the region, they had no accommodation for staff, computer laboratory, science laboratory and inadequate dormitories for the students.
At BIHECO, Rev. Father Walter Agbeto, said though there were classrooms to take fresh students, the school lacked dormitories. He said out of the 364 students given admission to the school, 261 had reported.
He said to solve the problem of dormitory accommodation, the school had converted some classrooms into dormitories but some of the students had to sleep on the floor in the assembly hall.
Another problem was the lack of a places of convenience for the first-year students. This had compelled the school's authorities to construct a temporary pit latrine for them.
He appealed to the contractor, who is supposed to begin work on the construction of the emergency dormitory for the school, to begin work.
At SMASCO where out of 224 students posted to the school, 125 had arrived, there was congestion so some of the classrooms had to be converted into dormitories for the students to sleep on the floor.
At each of the schools, Rt. Revd Lodonu, after noting their challenges, urged the students to utilise the limited resources at their disposal since the government was doing its best to solve their problems.
'You should persevere and work hard to surmount your challenges', the Bishop said.
He also urged the students to bear with the school authorities since the problems were not their making.
“Yours is to concentrate on your books so that you will be able to make yourself ready to enjoy the fruits of your labour”, he advised.