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Inadequate furniture in some basic schools in the Bole Bamboi District of the Northern Region has forced pupils to sit on the dirty floor during class hours.

Some of the pupils even lie prostrate, with their books in front of them, to enable them do class exercise.

The Finder can report that Bole R/C Primary, R/C Primary B and Bole Methodist Primary schools, which are situated close to the district assembly block and the police station, are grappling with inadequate furniture.

A visit to the three schools revealed that while some classrooms do not have furniture at all, others have limited desks, which accommodate just half of the class, while the remaining sit on the floor in the same classroom.

According to our investigations, the situation in these three schools, situated in the district capital, is just a tip of the iceberg as a number of basic schools in the district lack furniture.

Teachers, who are obviously not happy with the state of affairs, declined to comment on the situation, expressing fear of victimisation.

Some residents in Bole township who spoke to The Finder expressed concern about the poor conditions under which pupils of the affected schools study. 

They observed that if the situation is not addressed now, it would not only affect the academic performance of pupils but also expose them to some health hazards.

Some of them did not understand why schools close to the district lacked furniture.

The District Director of Education, Mrs Leo Cadiya, who spoke to this paper on phone, denied knowledge of the situation in the affected schools.

When asked about the last time she went on an inspection of schools in the district, especially the capital, she said her attention has always been on schools outside Bole, adding: “I am not aware of the situation there; my attention is usually on the schools in the remote areas, but I will send a team there to check tomorrow.”

Speaking to The Finder on the issue, the District Chief Executive for Bole, Mr Samson Jaga, said the attention of his office was not drawn to the situation on time, but added that he was making efforts to address the challenges.

 “We just confirmed the unfortunate situation in some of the schools, and we are working around the clock to fix the problem by next week,” he said.