Over 600 pupils in the Upper West Region have been diagnosed with sight-related complications.
This was discovered after an eye-screening exercise by the Wa West Educational Programme coordinator and Bliss Eye Care.
It was confirmed that some 495 pupils have pathological conditions like refractive errors, cataracts, and glaucoma which require immediate medical attention.
An optometrist and medical superintendent of Bliss Eye Care, Zakaria Alhassan Baluri, indicated that short-eye-sighted persons need not less than GHc 2,000 to get the prescribed medication for the condition.
The Wa West Educational Programme coordinator, Patrick Mornah, said the initiative is intended to provide essential eye-screening to pupils in rural areas who cannot afford such services.
“Most of the children have problems with their sight but unknowingly teachers worry them. So with this screening, we can identify them early to know if they have challenges with their sights, it will go a long way to help our children to improve upon their learning outcomes,” he said on Accra-based TV3.
Some pupils and teachers disclosed that some schoolchildren are forced to drop out of school because they struggle to see the board.
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