Poor road networks, weak mobile connectivity and inadequate accommodation are threatening the future of Gwiraman Community Senior High School in the Western Region, where student enrolment has dropped sharply over the past decade.
The school, which opened in 2015 with about 1,500 students under the E-Block initiative, now has only 420 students.
School authorities say the decline is largely due to poor access roads, unreliable communication networks and the lack of boarding facilities.
Gwiraman Community Senior High School was commissioned on 12th October 2015 under the then NDC government’s E-Block programme, which aimed to bridge the education gap between rural and urban communities.
Despite the challenges, the school has produced students who have gone on to excel academically.
One of them is Juliet Quansah, a former student who is now studying medicine at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
School authorities say academic performance in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination has remained encouraging, but declining enrolment continues to threaten the school’s growth.
Headmistress Sarah Asare said the school, with support from the Parent Teacher Association, had applied for boarding status to help address accommodation difficulties.
She appealed to government and other stakeholders to fast track the approval process to make the school more attractive to students from surrounding communities.
To demonstrate support for the initiative, the Gwiraman Traditional Council has cut sod for the construction of a 500-bed dormitory to mark the school’s 10th anniversary celebrations.
Addressing the gathering, the Paramount Chief of Gwira Bamianko, Awulae Angama Tu Agyan II, urged the government to convert the school into a secondary technical institution.
He said the move would improve enrolment and equip students with practical skills for employment.
The school’s 10th anniversary was celebrated under the theme: “A Decade of Impactful Academic Excellence: The Role of Stakeholders.”
At the event, the Western Regional Minister, Joseph Nelson, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to improving infrastructure in senior high schools.
He said a contract had already been awarded for work on the road leading to the school.
