IN the early sixties, the Volta River Authority (VRA) established a settlement at Adjena, a small village with mud houses in the Asuogyaman District.
The settlement was to settle land owners and farmers in the catchments areas of the River Volta whose arable lands had been flooded by the waters of the river to create the Volta Lake for Ghana’s first hydro electric project at Akosombo.
As expected, the VRA put up concrete buildings for the settlers to replace their mud houses which were washed away by the flood waters.
Initially, the village and the nearby communities had no basic school to cater for children of school age in the area so it was decided to establish one, which eventually took off in 1974.
That educational set up comprising a primary and middle school which was later transformed to a Junior Secondary School now (Junior High School) produced pupils for second-cycle educational institutions, although their grades were not too good compared with pupils in basic schools in the urban areas.
However, due to the non-availability of a Senior High School (SHS) in the area, many of such students had their dream of continuing with their education cut short, except those whose parents could afford.
Those students were privileged to be enrolled in second-cycle schools in far-away places such as Krobo Odumase, Somanya, Koforidua or Accra.
The only nearby second-cycle school, the Akosombo International School, could not also admit them because it catered for its employees and few other students outside with high academic grades.
The unfortunate pupils from the locality who could not secure those institutions were left in the limbo.
To address the imbalance, a prominent chief of the area, Otwasuom Osei Nyampong together with other Nananom and opinion leaders in the area decided to work for the establishment of a SHS which materialised with the transformation of the local JHS into a Senior High/Technical School in 1979, producing its first graduates in 1982.
The school which is a day institution, lacks almost all the necessary infrastructure and facilities that a SHS should have although it is located in a serene atmosphere with a lot of space for the provision of the required infrastructure.
Its classrooms are too small with leaking roofs while the cemented floors have not been renovated over the years, thereby producing dust during dry season.
Such a deplorable situation makes it difficult for classes to be conducted because when it rains, the rain water sips in the classroom while during the harmattan period, the classrooms become so dusty that the occupants find it difficult to breathe notwithstanding the dirt on uniforms, dresses, books and other educational materials.
There is also no assembly and dinning halls, accommodation for staff, except the headmaster who is using a ramshackle edifice on the school compound.
In reality, the school has a myriad of problems and at a certain period, the Ghana Education Service attempted to close it down had it not been the intervention of Otwasuom Nyampong and other chiefs and opinion leaders who worked around the clock and provided some of the basic facilities needed to avert its closure.
Despite such numerous problems, the school has over the years produced good students some of who entered the universities and other tertiary institutions.
Making bare its hydra-headed problems during the inauguration of the robes of the school choir at its premises recently, the Headmaster, Mr Joseph K. Aziaka said in spite of the numerous problems, the continued to produce good students.
He stated that enrolment had not been encouraging, with the student population currently standing at 262 comprising 150 boys and 111 girls.
Mr Aziaka said the difficulties facing the staff had not o deterred them from putting up their best and praised them for their dedicated services.
Mr Aziaka specifically mentioned staff members such as Messrs Vincent Ashie, Samuel Ahiadze, and Simon Ayivor for combining academic work with music that had enabled the school to form a choir to attract new students.
He also commended Otwasuom Nyanpong and others for their invaluable contributions that had enabled the school to continue to exist.
“Adjena Senior High Technical School has come to stay due to the tremendous assistance rendered by Otswsuom Osei Nyampong and others as well as the staff who also made a lot of sacrifices to guide the students academically for greater heights”, he told the gathering made up of past students and parents present to grace the occasion.
According to the headmaster, the school which has never organised a speech and prize-giving day due to its deplorable situation, hopes to do so in the near future.
He said “Unless help comes from Macedonia, such a memorable occasion in which students who distinguish themselves in the various subjects are awarded prizes to encourage them to study may be a mirage”.
This calls for the necessary assistance from stakeholders, especially the GES to ensure that the basic facilities are provided to the school without delay.
Basic facilities such as furniture if provided together with proper infrastructure for the classrooms, administration, and accommodation for staff, would transform the Adjena Senior Technical School to become one of the best in the region to cater for pupils in the very deprived area where poverty is the order of the day.
In the long term, that assistance would have a positive impact on the community since the school’s products most of who come from the area, would help in its development.
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