Ashanti Regional Minister Halts Admissions at Drobonso SHS Amid Safety Crisis

Ashanti Regional Minister Dr. Frank Amoakohene has suspended admissions at Drobonso Senior High School (SHS) in the Sekyere Afram Plains District, ordering the immediate relocation of 190 newly posted students after a shocking inspection revealed appalling conditions at the facility.

During an unannounced visit on Friday, February 21, the Minister found the school unfit for academic activity, citing severe infrastructure neglect and safety hazards.

Classrooms meant for teaching had been repurposed as maize storage, while over 170 stolen light poles left the compound in darkness. Bee infestations, encroachment by cattle and goats, and crumbling facilities compounded the crisis. “This situation is unacceptable,” Dr. Amoakohene stated, vowing urgent intervention.

The Minister has summoned the school’s contractor and education officials to expedite stalled construction, while the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has been tasked with restoring power. Road and transportation challenges in the remote district are also slated for resolution. In a Facebook update on Saturday, Dr. Amoakohene assured residents that the government would prioritize completing the school to provide “a safe, dignified environment for learning.”

Drobonso SHS’s plight traces back to 2014, when it was among 200 planned “E-block” Community Day Schools under the Mahama administration’s push to expand access to secondary education in underserved areas. However, progress halted after the 2016 change in government, leaving many communities, including Drobonso, in limbo. Former Ashanti Regional Minister Simon Osei-Mensah had previously proposed converting the abandoned site into an Agricultural Research Institute—a suggestion met with local resistance, as residents clung to hopes of educational access.

The current administration’s scramble to revive the project underscores broader challenges in Ghana’s education infrastructure, where political transitions often disrupt long-term development goals. For now, Drobonso’s students remain displaced, their futures hinging on swift, sustained action to transform the derelict site into the school they were promised a decade ago.