Former President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Angel Carbonu, has questioned why West Africa Senior High School (WASS) and St Thomas Aquinas Senior High School(SHS) have not been provided with adequate boarding facilities despite their strategic locations and existing infrastructure.
According to him, the lack of boarding facilities puts such schools at a disadvantage in the SHS placement system, where parents and students often prefer schools that offer boarding.
Speaking on Adom FM Dwaso Nsem, Mr Carbonu said he struggled to understand why WASS, located in Adenta, has not been upgraded to a Category A school despite having significant space and classroom infrastructure.
“I don’t understand why WASS is not Category A despite it being in Adenta, in the centre of town,” he said.
He noted that while boys at WASS do not have a boarding facility, the provision for girls is inadequate, describing it as a “makeshift” arrangement.
Mr Carbonu argued that the school already has a large compound and classroom facilities and could be significantly transformed with the construction of two large boarding facilities.
“They have a huge compound and classroom facilities, and all they need is two huge boarding facilities and it will transform,” he said.
He therefore questioned why the school had been left in its current state.
“So someone should tell me why WASS has been left the way it is,” he said.
Mr Carbonu also cited St Thomas Aquinas Senior High School in Cantonment as another example of a school whose development, in his view, has not kept pace with its potential.
He noted that the school still does not have boarding facilities, creating difficulties for students, particularly during examinations.
According to him, there was a point when the headmaster and teachers had to move around looking for accommodation for students so they could write their examinations.
“St Thomas Aquinas, a school in Cantonment, still doesn’t have boarding facilities. At a point, headmaster and teachers had to go round looking for a place to house the students so they can write exams,” he said.
Mr Carbonu believes the government should prioritise the construction of boarding facilities in such schools and assess whether improved infrastructure would translate into stronger academic performance and greater demand.
“Let’s put up a boarding facility in these schools and let’s see what their performances will be,” he said.
His comments form part of his broader call for a deliberate national effort to upgrade Ghana’s SHSs and reduce the concentration of students and parents around a limited number of highly sought-after Category A schools.
He argues that schools with adequate land and classroom infrastructure should be given the necessary investment to provide comparable learning environments and facilities, including boarding where appropriate, rather than allowing them to remain less attractive options in the placement system.
Also read:
