General News of Thursday, 25 May 2017

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Achimota School to check encroachment with 'high' wall

The wall is one of the measures that aims at getting rid of squatters settling close to the school. play videoThe wall is one of the measures that aims at getting rid of squatters settling close to the school.

The Old Achimotan Association has cut sod to begin the construction of high fence around the properties and land belonging to the Achimota School.

This initiative forms part of measures being put in place to deal with threats of encroachers on the lands of the school.

Speaking at the sod cutting ceremony on Thursday, Headmistress of the school, Beatrice T. Adom stated that the construction of the wall is one of the measures that aims at getting rid of squatters settling close to the school.

For the past 20 years, the school lands have been taken over by land guards and developers who are putting up structures without permits which is threatening the very existence of the schools.

Several efforts to get them evacuate the land has proven futile since most Land guards claim they are the owners of the land and in some instances have threaten staff occupying school bungalows to vacate.

Therefore, the Old Achimotan Association, as part of the 90th Anniversary celebration decided to construct a wall to help secure the school's land as it continues to be at risk from invading encroachers.

“We are building a ten-kilometer long wall to protect the school’s land, this is to make sure that encroachers stop developing on the land,” the Headmistress explained.

She added, “There is mayhem in the environment when teaching and learning is ongoing, too many encroachers on our land, this is not part of the vision of Achimota school, we therefore need to build a wall to protect the lives and properties and to produce leaders at large that’s is what the school stands for.”

Madam Beatrice T. Adom also called on government to provide more classrooms and dormitory to prevent congestion in the school.

Board Chair of the school, Mr. Osei Kwame Agyeman added that aside building a wall to prevent encroachers more needed to be done to ensure encroachers and squatters are permanently eliminated.

“This is a state land, we are determined to build the wall, we have a plan and we will make sure that anything that belongs to Achimota School will serve the interest of Achimota School," he said.