BEACH COMMUNITIES FALL SHORT IN EDUCATION

The United Nations Basic Millennium Development Goal of universal education and the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) system has come to a stand-still in sea-shore communities in Accra.
The inhabitants of these deprived societies, which include Chorkor, Jamestown and Teshie-Nungua, are mostly unemployed, fishermen or fishmongers who lack quality education and good livelihood.
They therefore adheres no importance to education and seek after their individual daily breads only.
The children, mostly found loitering at the beaches refuses to attend school on grounds of lack of money by parents, neglection, lost of passion for education and several non-educational accessibility problems.
The Chorkor suburb, a decade ago, was blessed with an education-free-no-paying educational academy through Alpha and Omega Academy.
The educational unit was established by Madam Gertrude Quartey in 1997, then a fibroid patient, who had been operated upon at the Tema General Hospital.
Believed to have established the educational unit under the directives of God Almighty, Madam Quartey, explains that God had a purpose for saving her life after several doctors proposal of surgery with fear of death, of which the very last was a success.
The school now serves 360 pupils, five voluntary youths in tuition, and has only one roofed-building and an attached hole-in canopy classroom for learning and administrative works.
The Christian schools close-by, was no substitute as educational minded families in the community could not afford the tuition fees.
Madam Quartey explained that the inhabitants of the suburb, needs education, not only in the classroom for children but social livelihood as well.
She explained that total negligence and laziness exemplified by most parents in the community, hinders educational development in the fishing community.
She also stated that most children avoid going to school due to financial difficulties.
“The children take it upon themselves to seek and sell charcoals among other small manual works for their meals in a day”, she added.
Alpha and Omega Academy was however registered as an association due to the immense support and intellectual development given to the children the deprived society.
Surprisingly, since the inception of the academy seven years ago, pupils do not pay tuition fee, except a feeding fee of 30pesewas a day of which 30 orphans are exempted.
The teachers receive monthly pay of ¢50 a month each, with no pay for the founder and principal of the school, Madam Quartey.
Madam Quartey outlined that the suburb was hostile to the educational academy.
She said, “Even inhabitants who offer services to us charges triple the price and landlords increase rent greatly”.
She stated that the current location of the academy is the fifth since inception seven years ago.
She however appealed for assistance to maintain Alpha and Omega Academy.
She as well prayed for education among sea-shore communities and change in mentality among the inhabitants.
The Academy is as well taking care of three teenage pregnant girls to ensure safety in their lives since they have been neglected by their families.
Characteristically of deprived communities, teenage pregnancy has greatly rose high in the sea-shore communities, leaving most of the young mothers live in danger.
The story at Christ the King of Kings Academy at Jamestown depicted no different fate.
The Academy, a three minute walk from the beach occupies the former GAPOHA warehouse building for children’s daily classroom activities.
Their classroom is demarcated by wood barns to differentiate various academic classes.
The principal, Mr. Emmanuel Ashie a physically challenged person, explained that, he established the school to help develop the fishing community children and to help curb risk faced by children at the beach.
He proclaimed that the school was a non-fee-paying school but one cedi is paid for feeding and teachers allowance.
He added that most families could not afford the cedi payment daily and decided to stop their children from attending but rather, join them either in selling or fishing at the beaches.