By Austin Agyenim Boateng
In the quiet, remote farming community of Mensahkrom, tucked within the Sunyani Municipality of the Bono Region, education is a daily act of resilience. What may, at first glance, resemble a makeshift shed is in fact the Junior High School block of the Mensahkrom Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Basic School — a fragile symbol of determination and hope for dozens of Ghanaian schoolchildren.
Constructed from rusted roofing sheets, loosely nailed wooden poles, and stick-lined open walls, the structure offers little protection from the elements. With no doors, windows, or even a solid floor, it fails to meet even the most basic definition of a classroom.
Inside, students squeeze onto worn wooden benches, many without desks, as they struggle to focus amid distractions from the surrounding bush, harsh weather, and the discomfort of their environment. A rickety blackboard stands at the front, while a barefoot girl walks by, unfazed by the mud and debris around her — a routine part of school life here.
“When it rains, everything stops,” said one student. “The water pours through the roof, the whole place gets muddy, and we have to run for shelter.”
Form Two students Francis Ayuma and Francisca Ayuma echo the same concern. “We stop learning anytime it rains,” they said. “The ground becomes so muddy we can’t even sit or write.”
Learning Amid Risk and Hardship
Beyond the poor infrastructure, the students face real and constant danger. The open design leaves them vulnerable to snake bites and intrusions from wild animals. There are no toilet facilities, and both teaching and learning materials are in critically short supply.
“These conditions are simply not conducive to learning, especially during the rainy season,” lamented Mr. Collins Asante, the school’s headteacher. “We are doing our best, but how can you teach effectively in a place like this?”
The difficulties extend to the teachers themselves. With no staff accommodation in the community, all four teachers commute daily from Sunyani, Odumase, Kotokrom, and Yawhima, spending between GHS 40 and GHS 50 each day on transportation. The cost and exhaustion are taking a toll on morale, retention, and instructional quality.
“We need help,” Mr. Asante pleaded. “A proper school block, modern washroom facilities, accommodation for staff, and basic materials for teaching and learning — without these, we are letting these children down.”
A Mirror of Rural Educational Inequality
Mensahkrom SDA JHS, which currently caters to about 50 students, is not alone. It represents a broader, systemic issue: the yawning gap in educational infrastructure and opportunity between Ghana’s urban and rural areas.
Despite Article 25 of the 1992 Constitution, which guarantees equal access to educational opportunities, many rural schools continue to suffer from chronic neglect. The situation at Mensahkrom also threatens Ghana’s commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 4 to ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all.
In far too many communities like Mensahkrom, schools remain trapped in cycles of underinvestment, depriving children of the foundational tools needed for future success.
A Call to Conscience
The plight of Mensahkrom SDA JHS is more than a report of poor infrastructure it is a story of courage, perseverance, and a fierce belief in the power of education.
These students and their teachers are not asking for luxuries just the basics: a safe space to learn, the tools to teach, and a fair chance at a better future.
Their voices now call out to the government, NGOs, religious bodies, and private citizens for urgent intervention. Because until classrooms like Mensahkrom’s are no longer built of sticks and hope, the dream of universal education remains painfully out of reach for many rural children in Ghana.
And yet, every day, they show up still learning, still hoping.
