KSTS students threaten demo over lack of furniture

Students of Kumasi Senior High Technical School (KSTS) at Patase in the Ashanti region have given Ministry of Education two weeks ultimatum to address lack of furniture and white board challenges the school is faced with or face their anger in the coming days.

The warning follows the regional education directorate’s intervention on 4th October 2023 leading to suspension of the plan on 5th October 2023 by the over 4000 students.

The students who spoke to Starr News said, a class with at least 50 students can boast of 30 furniture, a development the complaint is affecting teaching and learning activities on campus.

Some students disclosed they often have to stand for hours each day. Classes are in sections while others sit on the floor to participate in technical drawing activities instead of sitting appropriately on a chair.

“KsTS is a secondary Technical school where you can’t be drawing on a throwing board without a table but the situation on our campus encourages us to do so. Our teachers are uncomfortable teaching in a safe environment so for two weeks now some teachers have refused to teach us. So we are in school but they are not teaching us. The school management concentration is rather on our seniors who are preparing for final year exams’’.  

A female student also disclosed they sleep on the floor without bed in their various dormitories, a situation she described as unfortunate.

“ Heat is killing us in school. Our classrooms and dormitories are over populated there are no beds for us particularly we the first and second years students. We sleep on the floor and our bodies are full of skin rashes because of the excessive heat we are exposed to. Our situation is very bad so we need government help’’ she disclosed.

She added” if you see what we eat on campus you will feel very sorry for us. Sometimes the school tells us to buy our own sugar for breakfast and gari for lunch. Our parents do believe us when we share our feeding concerns with them on campus. We are ladies and we lose a lot of blood during our menstruation period. So we have to eat to regain blood and energy but just look at what we are eating on campus. Our situation is very bad so we need your help to address this unfortunate development in school’’ she pleaded.

Another male student said ” we intended to stage a protest on last week Friday 5th October 2023 but fortunately or unfortunately the regional educational director and his entourage visited us on campus and gave us assurance that our concerns will be addressed without giving us a specific date. Upon second thought we have decided to give them two weeks ultimatum if they fail to meet our demand we will give them a big showdown because our friends in KTI and OSECTECH are ready to support us in this demo. And I’m sure they do not know what we can do as technical students’’ he warned.                                                     

Meanwhile the school management have declined to speak on the matter explaining the concerns of the student have been tabled before the regional directorate of the Ghana Education service for assistance.