Galamsey Epidemic Cripples Academic Activities at Manso Datano Methodist JHS

Galamsey Epidemic Cripples Academic Activities at Manso Datano Methodist JHS

The menace of illegal mining, widely known as galamsey, is gradually eroding academic discipline and attendance at the Datano Methodist Junior High School in the Ashanti Region, as school authorities raise serious concerns over persistent student absenteeism.

A visit by the Angle News team to the school revealed a worrying trend, although the institution boasts a student population of over 200.

Daily attendance records paint a grim picture, with only a fraction of learners present in classrooms on regular school days.

According to the Headmaster, Mr Stephen Arthur, the growing attraction of quick financial gains from illegal mining activities within the Datano community has lured many students away from their books into mining pits.

Mr Arthur disclosed that management has made strenuous efforts to clamp down on the absenteeism situation, yet their interventions have proven futile due to what he describes as inadequate parental support.

“Some of the students now value galamsey money more than their education,” he lamented.

Beyond absenteeism, the headmaster further highlighted severe infrastructural challenges confronting the school.

Despite being designated as a BECE examination centre, Datano Methodist JHS is grappling with an acute shortage of furniture, compelling students to squeeze in twos and threes on a single desk.

The situation is further compounded by the absence of a toilet facility on campus.

Both teachers and students are forced to leave the school premises to go to nearby homes whenever they need to attend to nature’s call, a circumstance Mr Arthur describes as inconvenient and unhealthy.He is therefore appealing to government, non-governmental organisations, and benevolent individuals to urgently intervene by providing adequate furniture and sanitation facilities to safeguard the academic future of students in the Datano community.