Eleven girls pregnant as infrastructure crisis hinder supervision at Bolga-Sherigu SHS
Despite being under government control since 2018, no new infrastructure has been developed at the school’s current location. The Sherigu community has generously donated a larger tract of land at Basengo for the school’s relocation.
Eleven female students of the Bolga-Sherigu Community Day Senior High School in the Bolgatanga Municipality are currently pregnant, a trend that has alarmed students, educators, and advocacy groups.
Protect Our Future Foundation, a girl-focused nonprofit organization, has described the situation as deeply troubling, pointing to poor school infrastructure as a key contributor to the rising cases of teenage pregnancy.
The issue came to light during a leadership training session for the school’s Girls in Leadership Club, organized in partnership with She Leads and Plan International.
According to Nablise Anutigah Susana, Founder and Executive Director of Protect Our Future Foundation, only one of the pregnant girls is married, and two have already given birth.
“This school alone has eleven pregnant girls, which is a worrying situation for all of us,” she said.
Sherigu SHS, which has as current student population of over 300 students across four programs; General Arts, General Agriculture, Home Economics, and Business, was founded by the community in 2014 and officially absorbed into the public education system in 2018.
Infrastructure deficit
Bolga-Sherigu SHS shares its premises with a local primary and junior high school, operating with just ten classrooms, seven of which are in serious disrepair. Rainwater routinely pours through the perforated roofs during storms, disrupting lessons.
“When it’s raining, the water comes inside because the zincs are not good, so sometimes learning has to stop,” lamented Mavis, a first-year student.
The school has no proper offices for key staff, leaving teachers and administrators such as the school’s administrator and senior housemaster working under trees due to the lack of space.
In response to increasing enrollment, community members have provided temporary dormitory space for students from distant areas. Female students are crammed into unused JHS classrooms, while male students live in a makeshift shelter over 300 meters away.
“In the dormitory, we (students) are too many. It’s difficult to sleep because we are always packed like sardine fish, which is affecting us; some wake up with body pains, and we get sick easily from others,” shared Vera, a second-year student.
Even more concerning is the school’s lack of a functional toilet. Students and teachers are forced to resort to open defecation, an unhealthy and undignified practice that undermines national sanitation goals and Ghana’s commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 6.
There is no staff accommodation on campus, meaning no teachers remain after school hours to supervise or mentor students. According to stakeholders, this lack of oversight is a major driver of student indiscipline and the high rate of teenage pregnancies.
A perimeter wall, which could have enhanced security and control of student movement, is considered a luxury in the face of more urgent infrastructural needs.
Other pressing needs
As a government-assisted day school, Bolga-Sherigu SHS participates in the national one-hot-meal policy. However, with no dining hall or proper kitchen facilities, students are often left to eat in unsanitary conditions.
The school also has no security personnel, raising serious concerns about the safety of its limited assets. A teacher, speaking anonymously, expressed fears over the vulnerability of the school’s ICT lab, the only well-equipped classroom on campus.
Academic resources are similarly scarce. The school has an acute shortage of textbooks and lacks both science and home economics laboratories. Home economics students must travel to neighboring schools for their practical work which places additional burden for the already-struggling students.
New Site
Despite being under government control since 2018, no new infrastructure has been developed at the school’s current location. The Sherigu community has generously donated a larger tract of land at Basengo for the school’s relocation.
However, only two incomplete three-unit classroom blocks have been built at the new site. Community leaders have made several appeals for swift government intervention to develop the new campus and provide a conducive learning environment for students.
Stakeholders and advocacy groups have also urged the Ministry of Education and the Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central, Isaac Adongo, to prioritize the school for development support.
Mike 105.3 FM | Navrongo | Alexander Bombande
