James Kwabena Otwey, 80, has sacrificed part of his pension pay to start a school because there is no public school at Yamoah Nkwanta in the Awutu Senya municipality in the Central region.
His passion to help children achieve a better life in the future has forced him to use his corridors and kitchen as school.
The only private school in the community is up to Primary Four. Otwey has entered the school business to aid in educating children in the community.
Most pupils in the community end up graduating at Primary 4 because they are unable to trek long distance to neighboring communities to continue.
Although Otwey lack the amenities, his passion to help children did not give him peace to enjoy life in his old age.
In an interview with GHOne TV’s Odilia Agyeman Prempeh, James said: “I told my wife about my intentions to build a school, she understood although I didn’t have the accommodation. I convinced her and she agreed we use our corridors and kitchen as classrooms.”
The headmaster of the James Preparatory School laments parents in the community are not interested in building a better life for their wards.
“Most wards find it difficult to pay a termly fee of 45ghc and had led most children to loiter about in the community. When I started the school 10 years ago with five pupils, I was charging 50pesewas daily until recently I came up with the 45ghc fees termly, even with that, most of the children owe school fees”.
Children were seen happily and readily to acquire education even in the corridors and kitchen of their headmaster.
The eighty-year-old James would have to wait until the pupils close from school before the family can cook since the kitchen is a makeshift classroom.
Although he has started building a new school block to aid the pupil’s education, it has been halted as wards find difficulties to even pay the termly fee of Gh¢45.
A teacher at the James Preparatory School, Ebenezer Abeka Quansah, advised parents in the community to take their children’s education seriously since education is key to success in life.
He said parents in the community careless about preparing their wards for the future.
Goal four of the Sustainable Development Goals, seeks to achieve inclusive and equitable quality education for all will require increasing efforts, especially for vulnerable populations, including persons with disabilities, indigenous people, refugee children and poor children in the rural areas.
But until a public school is built for Yamoah Nkwanta community, going to school will remain a dream to some children in the community.
Source: Odilia Agyeman Prempeh, Ghone TV
