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A disturbing video of schoolchildren commuting to school on a canoe without life jackets has sparked widespread concern on social media. The video, sighted by Pulse News, captures children believed to be students of Odomankoma M/A Primary in Krachi West, in the Oti Region, navigating a large body of water to attend school.
In the video, the students, both male and female, are dressed in the traditional brown and yellow uniforms of public schools in Ghana. They are seen travelling in two groups of about ten each, paddling their way to school in separate canoes.
A voice commentary in the video, reportedly from a concerned resident believed to be a teacher, highlights the grave dangers these students face daily and appeals for urgent assistance to improve their situation.
The teacher explained:
When the lake overflows its boundaries, it takes about 2km for them to cross, almost about 30 to 40 minutes. But when it shrinks, the distance is able to reduce to about a kilometre. And then they cross within 25 to 30 minutes. So we really need help.
He further disclosed that on days when canoes are unavailable, many students are forced to remain at home, disrupting their education.
The challenge is that anytime the canoes are not available to them to use, some of them don’t come to school because they don’t have any means of crossing. So any help in this regard will save these young ones.
Another video shared by the teacher sheds more light on the harsh realities faced by these students. It shows them studying under trees and in mud buildings, emphasising the dire state of infrastructure in basic schools across rural Ghana.
These challenges call for urgent intervention to improve access to quality education in deprived communities.