Decaying Schoolhouse Sparks Enrollment Crisis in Ghana’s Nzema East

A crumbling mud structure with cracked walls and a leaky roof serves as the only government school for 16 villages in Ghana’s Nzema East Municipality, where parents are increasingly refusing to enroll their children due to its hazardous conditions.

The Edele-Suazo M/A Primary School, housing just four kindergarten pupils, has become a symbol of neglect, with its near-derelict state driving away both students and teachers while leaving rural families desperate for intervention.

During rains, lessons at the school grind to a halt as water pours through gaps in the corroded roof, forcing pupils and staff to scramble for cover. The building’s eroded walls and uneven floors pose safety risks, compounding a crisis that has seen teacher retention rates plummet. Nearly all educators posted to the school reject assignments outright or quickly seek transfers, leaving a lone teacher who has endured five years in the dilapidated facility but now plans to leave due to inadequate housing and burnout.

“This isn’t just a school—it’s a tragedy,” said Joseph Amozu, Assembly Member for the Nuebesah Electoral Area. “We beg for help: a proper building, better housing for teachers. How can we build a future when our children are taught in ruins?” Amozu revealed his repeated appeals to municipal authorities for repairs have gone unanswered, pushing the community to seek aid from philanthropists.

The school’s decline mirrors broader challenges in rural Ghana, where underfunded infrastructure and teacher shortages exacerbate educational inequities. With 16 villages relying on the Edele-Suazo facility, its collapse threatens to cut off access to basic education entirely. “No parent wants their child learning here,” one resident said. “If this school dies, our children’s futures die with it.”

Education advocates warn the situation underscores a failure to prioritize rural communities in national development plans. As Ghana pushes its free compulsory education agenda, critics argue the government must confront gaps in infrastructure investment—particularly in regions where mud-and-thatch classrooms still dominate. For now, families in Nuebesah wait, hoping their plea for a functional schoolhouse will resonate before the last teacher—and the last pupil—walk away.