A public school in Accra has cuts down teaching hours to avoid confrontation with residents over its school park. Officials at the Fadama Cluster of Schools say the compound is taken over by local football clubs in the mornings and evenings and at night drug peddlers ply their trade and have open sex in the compound. For the past three weeks school starts an hour and a half late and closes two hours early to avoid confrontation with residents of the area. Joy News reporter Prince Fortune Effanga who visited the school, described the situation as grim. At break time pupils playfully scramble to wash their hands and get back to class under their teachers’ supervision. The teachers express worry that some of the school children must have played with used condoms which they often find in and outside the classrooms in the mornings. Pupils and teachers alike look pale, obviously beaten by dust from the school’s park which has become a favourite play ground for people in the community. Some community members also wean sand from the school compound, exposing the soil to wind erosion. One of the classroom blocks is almost hanging due to the sand-winning activity. But these are not the only problems facing this Fadama cluster of schools. Over the past five years two pregnant teachers have miscarried after they were hit by football during teaching hours. A third teacher almost went blind when a darting football hit her on the face. These life threatening distractions are of great concern to school authorities. Dominic Akorli, a representative of the Teacher’s Union at the school describes the situation as regrettable and calls for immediate action. The Fadama Cluster of Schools contains more that nine hundred pupils and students from six primary and Junior High Schools. And just like many other clusters of schools, runs the morning and afternoon shift system, beginning from 6:45am to 5pm. But at the moment, teachers have decided to open school at 8am and closes at 3pm instead. The authorities have been compelled to reduce learning hours because some residents insist on playing football on the compound in the morning and at evening. Emmanuel Ampadu is the schools’ prefect told Joy News the situation has made teaching and learning very difficult. Emmanuel’s class and two other classroom blocks are right by the road side. Apart from noise from drivers, bus conductors calling out for passenger, these classroom blocks are very dark, forcing the school children to strain their eyes in class. Traders in the community have built kiosks too close to the classroom windows. With all these challenges, the teachers are demanding that the school be fenced and security light installed all around to fend off drug peddlers and sex workers and local football teams which take over the school classes start and close. Credit: Prince Fortune Effanga