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State of School InfrastructureTopReport on a first-hand observation of the physical condition of the facilities, structures & infrastructure of MAWULI Secondary School at Ho, GHANA Secondary School at Ho, GHANA A Contribution to Preparations for the Year 2000 Jubilee Celebrating the 50th Year Anniversary of the Founding of the Institution Dr. John-Thones Amenyo O’73 A’75
This report is dedicated to Rev. Dr. Trost, whose vision, determination and drive, 50 years ago, resulted in the creation of this institution, Mawuli School that many of us now call our alma mater. In the early part of the summer of 1998, the interim executive committee of the New York Chapter of Old Mawuli Students Union – North America (OMSU-NA) requested of the author to be part of a task force that will visit Mawuli School at Ho. The task force’s mission was to report back on the conditions of the school so that the Chapter can determine how best to make financial and other contributions to the school. Unfortunately, the task force was unable to accomplish its work due to unanticipated logistical problems. The author wishes to acknowledge here the considerable efforts of the other member in the task force, Mrs. Janet Agudu, whose preparatory work contributed greatly to the final report being presented here. The author also wishes to acknowledge the encouragement given by the other interim directors of the OMSU-NA, New York Chapter, Mr. Anthony Buckner and Mr. Worla Sedzro. To a great degree, the author’s authorization for preparing the report comes from the request by the growing online community of Mawuli School Alumni(ae) that the author act as the de facto liason between Old Mawulians in N. America and those on the ground in Ghana. The author was also partly tasked to be a de facto delegate from N. America to the OMSU Congress recently held on October 30 & 31, 1998 at Ho, Ghana. The author wishes to commend the fine work being done by several Old Mawulians in exploiting the modern communications and Internet technologies to bring the Mawuli alumni together into an electronic and online virtual community. Without intending to slight anyone else, since several alumni are making significant contributions online, the author wishes to explicitly mention Dr. Yao Ababio, Mr. Mawuli Tse, Dr. Victor Akatsa, Mr. Luthuli Edem Dake, and Mr. Kofi Glover as examples of Mawuli Online. During the author’s visit to Ghana, several Mawuli alumni were kind enough to find time to talk to him and express their views and concerns about our alma mater. The author wishes to thank especially Hon. Kofi Attor, Dr. Seth Fiadoyour, Mr. Senyo T. Amengor, Mrs. Mary Amengor (née Glover), Mr. Frank Avorkliyah, Mrs. Akorfa Avorkliyah, Mr. Joe Akaba, Mr. Godwin Banson, Ms. Aseye Gadagoe, Ms. Annie Anipa, Dr. Lawson Ahadzie, Mrs. Beatrice Obro, Mr. Tim Dzamboe, Ms. Albertha Nyaku, Mr. Etoenyo Ntumi, Mr. Richard Hlomador, Mr. George Apau, Mr. Chris Kedze, Mr. Nat. Dzadey, Mr. F.M. Tetteh, Efo Kodjo Mawugbe, Mr. V. K. Darkey-Mensah, Mr. Leo Amedume, Mr. K. W. Attoh, Dr. Yao L. Kaledzi, Dr. Vincent K. Nartey, Mr. Fred D. Buatsi and Mr. Winfred Y. Bonsi. The author would also like to thank all the delegates at the OMSU Congress ’98 for giving him the opportunity to briefly speak before them on the ongoing activities in N. America, as well as within the worldwide Mawuli online community. The OMSU National Executive Committee is to be commended for their continuing effort on behalf of all of us. The author extends his congratulations to Dr. George Ofori-Dwumfuo and all the new members for their recent (re-) elections. The current Headmaster of Mawuli School, Mr. Victor K. Mensah, found time out of a busy day to discuss the conditions and issues about the school with the author. Mr. Amitey, an alumni and also one of the current Assistant Headmasters was also very helpful. The inspection team that toured the whole campus consisted of Mr. J. Kwame, a former colleague who is now on the faculty; Mr. Jerry Adjorlolo, the current School Prefect or Chief Officer; Mr. Christian Agyeman, the current Assistant Chief Officer and the author. The author would like to thank Mr. Kwame and the others on the team for agreeing to participate in what turned out to be a grueling exercise on a very hot day. Ms. Augustina Asare, the Assistant Director of the Home Studies Department and also the House Mother of the Girls’ Old Block kindly agreed to chaperon the inspection team during the tour of the girls dorms and residences. Ms. Edem Djanie, an alumna and currently a teacher at the School also provided valuable insight into current conditions. Despite all the help offered and received, the author of the report, and not those who spoke to him, takes full responsibility for the report. On a more personal note, the author would like to thank his wife, Mrs. Jane Cody Amenyo and his children, Nathaniel Lorlornyo, Clara Delali and Margaret Esime for the patience and support, during the author’s absences from home, as he moves between the two continents. Additionally, the author expresses his gratitude to his cousins Mr. Dominic Banson and Dr. Wolanyo Kpo, for making available accommodation and transportation resources, respectively, during the visit to Ghana during the time period in which the observations covered in the report were made. The author’s brother, Mr. Emma Tenu, kindly drove the author on the trip from Accra to the Ho campus. Finally, the author wishes to acknowledge the generosity of GeoGora Ghana Ltd., in allowing their computing facilities to be used in preparing and disseminating the report. The author is not trained either as an architect or as a construction engineer. Therefore, there was no attempt to determine the structural integrity and physical soundness of the buildings themselves. Each of the buildings continues to look solid, but this observation is necessarily a layman’s opinion. It is recommended that as part of any upcoming major renovations, the services of a structural engineer be sought to determine structural integrity of the structures, for example for the next 50 years. The report is confined primarily to descriptions (without too much personal interpretations) of visual observations of the physical structures. The report does not address the current status of academic excellence and performance of the school and the students; the number and quality of academic departments; as well as course loads of students and teachers. The state of the relationship among the administration, the faculty, staff and students is not addressed; although some comments were unavoidably collected. It is not unexpected some the current students and also recent graduates sometimes feel that there is occasional communication problems between the administration / faculty and the student body. Due to time limitations, there is not as much input going into the report from the PTA and from parents of current students as the author would have liked. This feedback need to be sought to make the report more complete and broader based. The problems, needs and requirements discussed in the report are not presented below in any order of priority. If anything, the presentation only largely mirrors the sequence in which the facilities were inspected during the tour. The physical structures of Mawuli School are terrible shape and continue to deteriorate. The decline needs to be ameliorated and reversed immediately. All the existing facilities need extensive repairs and new ones need to be constructed to address the growing student population. The 50-year Jubilee can serve as the right clarion call to set things right. Restoring Mawuli School to its past glory and then equipping it with new resources to usher it into the 21st century will require massive capital outlays. Nonetheless, there is every reason to be optimistic that by cooperating we can do it ¾ the School administration, faculty and staff, Alumni, OMSU, PTA, current students and Friends of Mawuli. This observation report deliberately eschews from making any major recommendations. It tries to report the facts unadorned. Therefore, to a great extent it serves as documentation of the Wish List of what needs to be done to improve the School. It is hoped that all the stakeholders will draw upon the report in several and various serious discussions in order to reach a consensus about how the diverse problems highlighted can be prioritized and eventually addressed. Roads, Approaches, Pathways Entry Road Probably the road from the main gate can be taken as harbinger of the poor state of condition of the whole school. The entry road is hardly useable for driving. It is full of craters (potholes). At least two roadside trees have grown so big that some of their roots that lie under the road pavement have started reshaping the road into a corrugated and bumpy surface. Tree Park The Tree Park refers to the area near the entry gate. It lies to the left of the road as one faces the gate looking into the school. It requires a fence. It also needs a renovation and beautification, for example, the provision of flower gardens and more park seats. Appian Way The road that is the famous (and beloved) Appian Way is now unpaved. This deteriorated condition of the road continues right around the bend to the Headmaster’s house. The road leading to the girls’ dorms shows signs of extreme erosion, with rocks strewn all over it. It may even be hazardous to negotiate in the night. Campus Roads All the roads on the campus are in very poor condition. They need to be re-paved or re-surfaced. This project is actively being worked by the School administration in cooperation with OMSU-Ghana. Student Dorms & Housing Wilberforce House The septic tank meant to serve the House constantly overflows. An inspection has determined that it is not cemented inside and the sewage contents are seeping into the surrounding soil. A plumber, on consultation, has recommended that the existing tank be completely abandoned and replaced with a new one. The lavatory is in very poor condition. There are broken gutters. The floor is peeling off and water seeps out and covers the floor making it slippery. The water closets (WC) are poor quality. In the shower stall, all the shower heads are missing and the total number of usable shower pipes has been decimated. The outside physical structure needs re-painting. The facial board, just below the roofing is deteriorating and needs to be replaced. The outer walls can do with general renovation and upkeep. The cellar currently has no door. The dorm rooms currently being by SS1 and SS2 students have broken glass windows and broken fenestration. The rooms have very dirty walls and need to be re-painted. The author would to note here that the room painting is one project the current student residents can undertake on their own (under supervision of their prefects and dorm leaders), provided they have access to adequate supplies of paint. This student-led painting project could be done across the board in all the residence dorms. The Common Room is in utterly deteriorated condition. There is no furniture or furnishings and there is no place to entertain visitors. The students also express a wish to have the Common Rooms to be equipped with TV stations (and computer terminals). During the occasions when students from other schools visit Mawuli and require overnight accommodation, some of the Mawuli students are required to give up their beds and sleep in the Common Room area. However, some of the students have expressed their fears about the poor state of physical security of the Common Rooms. This situation applies to all the boys’ dorms. Lincoln House The rooms serving as SS1 & SS2 student dorms are very congested both in terms of the number of beds and student boxes and personal effects. The Box Room (traditionally used for storage) has been converted into an SS3 cubicle. Therefore, the students are required to keep their boxes with them in the sleeping areas. The rooms have broken locks, broken windows and missing door fenestration, and broken doors in some cases. The dorm rooms also need re-painting The banister is missing on the front staircase connecting the two floors. The cellar needs to be secured. The lavatory is in very poor condition. The toilets leak and need replacement. There are only four (4) shower stands (actually shower pipes) for use by all the residents. The drainage ditches around the building have deteriorated and need to be repaired. Aggrey House The outside of the building needs re-painting and general upkeep. The drainage pipe from the Assistant Housemaster’s quarters (it used to be the Chief Prefect’s residence) is broken and thus, the toilet & bathroom facilities at the quarters cannot be used. The dorm rooms have broken glass windows and also need re-painting. The lavatory is in poor condition. So is the sewage system. The lavatory floor is perpetually wet and poses a hazard for serious accidents. Shower pipes are broken and shower heads are missing. The inspection team observed some of the students using the sinks and water faucets directly to take their baths. Top Trost House The inspection team was informed that there are plans for this block to be completely renovated by the Ghana government. There is evidence of this via the new electrical re-wiring work being done. Trost House is one of the physical structures in the sorriest shape on the whole campus. There are no unbroken windows. Shower heads are broken and missing in the bathroom. There are no sinks. The banisters of the staircases are broken. The parapet on the upstairs floor is broken in several places and actually constitutes a safety hazard. The inspection team did not visit the staff quarters. Aku House The old Common Room has deteriorated. Several of the classrooms have broken doors, door locks, windows and louvres. The blackboards are in barely serviceable condition. The staircase banisters are broken. Part of the upstairs parapet is also broken. One upstairs classroom has a broken ceiling. The lavatory and toilet facilities urgently need to be rehabilitated. Apparently, since the block was converted for classroom use, these facilities were neglected and abandoned. These facilities cannot even be used by students during class hours. Female Student Housing The female student population has been growing over the years and is almost now on par with that of the males. However, the female accommodation space has not kept pace with this growth. All female boarders are still confined to 2 dorm houses (blocks), while the male boarders continue to occupy 4 residence blocks.1 Due to both over-capacity and ongoing renovations, female students in all the girls’ dorms are forced to use pit latrines. Even after the new toilet facilities in the New Block are handed over to the residents, it is already known that the resources will inadequate in meeting the existing needs of the resident population. For both the New Block and the Old Block, there are signs that the females have taken better care of the surroundings, facilities and rooms than have the male students. Female students, over several generations are to be highly commended for this state of affairs. Although all the female students’ dorms are well kept, there is still a need for general re-painting. There is less visible clutter in the female dorm rooms because only the SS3 students are allowed to keep their personal Boxes in the sleeping areas. Phone booths need to be installed near the dorms (residence halls), especially the girls’ dorms. Girls’ New Block Signs of roof water leakage were observed, for example, along the corridor of Priscilla House and in Queens Hall. Some of the rooms have broken louvre windows. The flooring in at least one dorm room has been left in an unfinished state and needs to be completed. The mosquito netting covering the windows are torn and need to be replaced. More laundry drying lines need to be installed. Shoe racks will also prove valuable to the current residents. The drainage in the shower areas needs to be fixed. Also needed are additional shower stalls and heads. Girl’s OLD Block A large number of students have to use the Block (about 125 residents for each of the two Houses). Bath capacity is inadequate. The sinks in the bathroom do not work. Signs of roof water leakage were observed in Nightingale House. Wardrobes need to be constructed and attached to the walls for residents’ use. The dorm rooms need general painting. Glala House* The downstairs classroom has broken windows and doors. The outside drainage system is broken. The plumbing system supplying water to the staff quarters upstairs is not working. Thus, residents are forced to fetch water upstairs to fulfill daily needs. The residents also observed that their rooms are quite small. Jubilee House* KVIPs are used for toilet facilities. These produce quite unbearable stench during the hot weather. Several louvres are missing on the windows of the downstairs classrooms. The current faculty population is about 60, including the Headmaster and the two Assistant Headmasters. Since there are not enough bungalows to serve as residence for the whole faculty, some members have to seek accommodation outside and then commute daily to campus. A serious situation is that a couple of the male faculty members are living in very cramped conditions with their families (including several children) in the upstairs space at the front of the boys’ dorms. At earlier times, some of these spaces were occupied by the House Prefects and in terms of capacity could probably only comfortably accommodate single, unmarried faculty members. The bungalows being used by the faculty as residences are in poor deteriorated condition. For example, broken windows are very common. Most of the houses need re-painting and new mosquito netting. Each of the bungalows needs to be re-equipped with ceiling fans, or provisions are made for floor fans and/or air conditioning. Some of the faculty has expressed serious reservation about the level of physical security available at the bungalows. At the moment, each faculty resident is required to provide his or her personal furnishings and furniture. Adequate means of transportation need to be established for the house parents. This resource is particularly needed when students require emergency hospital visits. The School urgently needs to construct a story building that can house flats for faculty and staff. Kitchen Facilities The needs of the Kitchen are numerous and extensive. This is unsurprising since it is one part of the school that provides daily and continuous services to the boarder student community. The School currently relies on a central gas system to cook the students’ meals. At the time of the inspection tour covered in this report, there was a temporary gas shortage of gas and thus the kitchen has to resort to using wood (and charcoal?). Fans are needed to adequately vent the smoke generated during cooking. The kitchen requires netting for the storage shelves where food (prepared or in preparation) is kept. Other storage shelves are required to store cocoa-yam leaves and spinach. Grain storage space is also another urgent need. It was observed that the palm oil storage drums were not in good condition. Some of food preparation area is now open to the elements. The preparation area floors are generally not neat. An open drainage system is used to carry waste from the food preparation area. The internal walls and floors of the whole kitchen area need renovation and re-painting. The kitchen needs more stoves and requires at least one more oven. Also needed are pots and cold storage facilities to keep dough, etc. Since the kitchen has access to adequate amounts of electricity, it needs and can productively use electric kitchen appliances and utensils. More supplies of general utensils are also needed. To meet contingencies, some thought should be given to providing the kitchen with its own electricity generator (or battery packs or solar panel?), especially for cold storage uses. In the fridge (cold storage) room, the roof is leaking and some of the storage shelves are collapsing. The school is still relying on old and outdated refrigerators. There is an urgent need to provision big cold storage units. A dressing room is required for the kitchen staff. The kitchen staff also needs a place (room/space with tables and chairs) to sit down and eat their own meals. The kitchen staff currently has no lavatory (toilet, bathroom and shower) facilities. In the pantry (where dishes and utensils are washed), the sinks and pipes/plumbing are broken and the water taps (faucets) do not work. The area/space between the kitchen and the dining hall is considered and used as a service area. All boarding students are now required to provide their personal plates, cups, cutlery and eating utensils. Thus, the students resort to using the serving area to wash their utensils immediately after meals. This is especially true of the female students, since their dorms are located far away from the Dining Hall. Therefore, the serving area is at times very congested and smelly and is generally unsanitary. It was also observed to have broken windows. Dining Hall Most of the fans in the main room do not work. The side room has no fans at all. The overall space has become (or is becoming) too small to carry the boarder student population that keeps increasing. At the moment, each dining table seats 13 to 16 students at each meal. The outside of the Dining Hall has been re-painted quite recently. A statute with the bust of Rev. Dr. Trost, the founder of the School, has now being placed in front of the Administration building. The bulletin board on which administrative notices are posted has a broken display glass. Signs of roof water leakage were observed. At the present time, the School’s information or knowledge base (and thus, historic memory) is entirely in paper form. It is understandably quite difficult to retrieve information and data about past or current staff, students and employees. For example, it is very laborious to construct Old Student class lists for all the alumni. Currently, there are NO computers for the administration, accounting, billing, library nor science labs. The school administration information function needs to be automated immediately. There will be short payback period for any investments made to computerize administration records and finances. The School’s administration feels that a new Administration Block needs to be constructed, partly because the existing one continues to deteriorate and also to cope with the growing student population. A new library complex will be part of this new block, incorporating a reference room, reading room(s), librarian’s office, bookstores or shelves and an archival room. It can also include a Language Lab provisioned with audio/visual and multimedia resources. A new Administration Block will also provide offices for the Headmaster; Assistant Headmasters and senior HouseFathers and HouseMothers; Guidance and Counseling coordinator; and a new Staff Common Room. Staff Common Room The faculty and staff lounge is in a deplorable condition. No furniture was observed in the room. Separate piles of students’ notebooks were noticed, obviously meant for different teachers. Shelf space is needed for each teacher to store his or her students’ workbooks. One of the walls of the room is caving in and is considered dangerous enough that not too many faculty or staff members will go near it. The Library Space is very limited in the Library and it cannot adequately support the current student population. The current complex can only accommodate about 25% of the student population at any time. Due to this limitation SS1 students (freshmen) are not allowed to use the Library during evening study hours. Shelf space is needed to store and display books. There is not adequate furniture (tables and chairs) for use in the Library. Signs of water leaks were observed in parts of the ceilings of the Library building. The Library continues to house and carry very old books. A cursory sampling of the books showed none whose publication date is as recent as 1995. The same situation applies to the serials observed (journals, magazines and periodicals). The Library needs news subscriptions to serials in both general and subject specific areas. No multimedia and audio/video (AV) materials were observed as being part of the Library collection. In one section of the Library, the inspection team observed about a dozen or so outdated and unused computer equipment capable of accepting Japanese Kanji alphabet. The Library needs at least two computer workstations (desktop PCs) and an Internet connection for use by its patrons. Several students mentioned and complained about book dumping. This is the practice of well-meaning alumni, parents or other donors who present the School and/or the Library with collections of books that nobody ever finds any use or need for. These books end up filling valuable shelf space and also give the false impression that the Library is well endowed. Students also complained that power cuts disrupt the use of the Library since there is not backup generator to support it during those emergency periods. Classrooms & Teaching Facilities The School keeps growing rapidly in the size of its student population. There are now about 1300 students. The female student population is currently 45% of this total. Old Classroom Block All the student storage cubicles that were formerly in the classrooms have been removed. Many doors are off their hinges. Several of the classrooms show signs of cracking walls All the blackboards are extremely aged and need to be replaced with either green boards or whiteboards. Standalone easels with presentation paper can also be useful for the teachers and students. The School needs at least a couple of projectors. Installation of fans in the classrooms will improve the learning and teaching environment (the author promised to put this particular request into the report). White Block The rooms have no fans. Window panes are also broken in several of them. Classrooms are being used under very congested conditions. For example, some class sizes have 50 students. The Typing Pool is still relying exclusively on manual typewriters. Its resources need to be upgraded at least to electronic typewriters and word processors and even to PCs. New 18-Unit Classroom With a financial assistance from the Ghana Government, the School is constructing an 18-unit classroom block. It will have three floors and each its classrooms will have the capacity to hold about 40 students. Thus, the School will be able to accommodate an estimated 2000 number of students when the new classroom block is finished. Plans for the new classroom were drawn up before the new worldwide popularity of wiring classrooms for the Information Age. Thus, wiring for the Internet will have to be retrofitted. The Science Building has been converted into a Science Resource Center for the whole Ho District. Thus, it is being equipped for use by other schools besides Mawuli. The project was started in 1996. The installation of the gas and water systems is incomplete, so the Science Resource Center is not yet operational. Due to the establishment of the district Science Resource Center in the Science Building, the School’s own laboratories have each been squeezed into small rooms in buildings near to the Science Block. Nevertheless, the science labs are expected to continue to support a large number of students. There are currently 90 science students. About 100, 120 & 120 students at the SS3, SS2 & SS1 levels, respectively, are taking electives in agriculture and technology and are expected to study science as par of their course work. Scheduling of facilities and the availability of science lab materials are big problems. Chemistry Lab Signs of roof water leaks were observed on the lab ceiling. The surfaces of the lab tables are very corroded and ought to be replaced. The needs of the lab are numerous and various: equipment, electronic equipment, test tubes, beakers, reagent bottles, water seals and chemicals. Physics Lab The lab has just recently moved into the room. It needs new benches and equipment. The Agriculture Department has no lab space of its own and is currently using the Physics lab as a stop gap measure. Biology Lab The Biology Lab requires equipment and materials. OTHER PHYSICAL STRUCTURES It is the case throughout the whole campus that there is adequate water supply through the pipes into the student dorms and faculty residences. Therefore, the residents no longer have to rely on the underground water storage facilities underneath the administration and classroom blocks for emergency situations and shortage periods. Thus, the upkeep, cleaning and maintenance of those storage facilities are no longer being done. The sewage system throughout whole school is in very poor condition and may be posing potential health hazards. The faculty & staff toilet facilities in the classroom areas are grossly inadequate. The traditional Girls Only room has been converted into a classroom. During class hours, female students are currently using a shed placed in the bushes near the classrooms. There is an urgent need for portable toilet facilities. Academic Departments Home Studies The growth in student population has outpaced the department’s current space resources. Thus, the department has had to cope with 28 examination (graduating) students whose requirements far exceed the capacities and available to the department. The department needs its own block or at least a larger space. The needs of the department are numerous and varied. These include acquisition of 1 or 2 electric sewing machines; an embroidery machine; and (industrial strength) mixers and blenders. The department also requires storage facilities such as refrigerators (fridges) and deep freezers. Another urgent need is a facility for the students to learn catering style, large scale cooking. This report recommends that for equipment needs for departments such as Home Studies, big corporations, both Ghanaian and non-Ghanaian, be solicited to make donations of such resources. Technical Engineering This Department currently occupies the old Carpentry Workshop. The Department has recently bought one (1) used car for teaching purposes. The students need to be provided with several engine blocks, preferably from different makes and models of automobiles. The Department also needs extra space for its workshops and laboratories. The tennis court near the classroom no longer exists. Apparently, another court was briefly located in the area between the Headmaster’s house and the girls’ dorms, but that court has also now being abandoned. So the School currently has no tennis courts. The basketball court needs extensive renovation and new equipment, including the boards, the rings and nets. The ground also needs to be resurfaced. In the long term, the School needs and gymnasium and sports/exercise facility for the whole School community. In the meantime, the School needs new sports equipment, including boots and jerseys. The Old Field also needs to be rehabilitated and graded so that it can be used for hockey and handball games. The running track surface is grass and should be modernized. Clinic & Health Facilities The Clinic is a fairly new facility. However, it is standing unused. It had been operating until two years ago under a nursing assistant, who unfortunately passed away. Currently, all serious student and staff medical problems require emergency visits to Ho Hospital in town. Money is required to properly staff the Clinic, as well as provide adequate equipment and drugs (pharmaceuticals) resources. When it was founded in 1950, Mawuli School campus was completely isolated from the town of Ho and in fact existed by itself with hardly any neighbors in its surroundings. This has now changed. The township of Ho has expanded so rapidly that the Mawuli campus has been engulfed and encircled and is now largely part of the town. The wire fence that used to surround the School grounds (campus) has broken down and has been cut in several places. Various parts of the surrounding neighborhood are now accessed through the School’s property. Thefts of property from the School has been reported and ascribed to intruders. The prevailing conditions have serious security implications. The fence surrounding the whole campus needs to be repaired and access to the schools grounds needs to be strictly enforced. Both students and faculty have expressed the desire that the wire fence ought to be replaced by a surrounding or a campus-enclosing wall. The School Administration is planning to re-landscape the whole campus and also cut down some of the aged trees. Computing & Information Technology At the moment, the whole School has a single PC that has been donated a few years earlier by OMSU members residing in Germany. The School urgently needs to be flooded with PCs, both Wintels and Macs. The old Canteen building is currently being converted into a Computing Center. The number of phone facilities on the campus is inadequate. Phone booths need to be installed near the dorms (residence halls), especially the girls’ dorms. The School is constructing a new 2000-seat Assembly Hall, partly to relieve pressure on the existing Dining Hall. The School has abandoned plans to build a chapel. In its place, the new Assembly Hall under construction will serve as a multi-purpose, multi-function facility. It will be used for entertainment, lectures and symposia, as well as a place of worship. In 1997 it was estimated that the overall costs to finish the Assembly Hall would be Cedis 800 million. So far, by October 1998, Cedis 250 million have been spent in constructing the partial structure that exists on the plot. Part of the monies raised came from a levy of Cedis 15,000 per annum on all current students. All the stakeholders would like to at least have the existing structure completely roofed before the Golden Jubilee in 2000 A.D. Teaching: Faculty Concerns The School, with the help of the Alumni and the PTA, needs to develop serious and innovative incentive packages that can be used to attract, retain and motivate (star) teachers. By government policy, teachers are no longer hired by the School but by the Ghana Education Service. Thus, teachers can be (and are frequently) transferred at the whim of the Ministry of Education. Learning: Student Issues The most blatant and very serious issue is that the severely deteriorated condition of the school is not at all an educational environment conducive to productive learning. Summary & Conclusions School facilities are deteriorated and over-extended; but all that is required to correct things is determination. Mawuli School will soon graduate close to an estimated 6,000 alumni in its fifty years of existence. Many have made it according the usual material and social standards. Pride in such a remarkable achievement can be used as the engine to renovate, rehabilitate and renew a beloved alma mater. Once a Mawulian always an Old Mawulian. |