Koforidua, Jan 19, GNA - The school authorities of the Abuakwa State College are using a borehole meant for the school to produce sachet water and selling to both the public and students.

Profit accruing from the sachet water production is being used as an incentive package to complement the salaries of the teachers. The situation has on many occasions led to the students agitating on the school compound that the sachet water should be free for them or to allow the borehole to serve the school community.

This came to light when a committee mandated to investigate the circumstances that led to the drowning of a second-year student in a pit at the school presented its report to the out-going Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, in Koforidua.

According to the report the school, which has over 2,000 students, has a water problem because the pumps were not enough to supply water to the school therefore they relied on other sources of water outside the school. Mr Nicholas Brako, secretary of the Parent/Teacher Association, said the borehole was reactivated by the PTA.

He explained that the boreholes being used for the sachet water production were initially solar powered and the PTA decided to use a fund levied from the students as teachers' incentive.

Mr Brako said although the teachers enjoyed the profits as their incentive package, water from the same boreholes used for the sachet water had been the source of supply to the kitchen free of charge. He justified the sale of the sachet water to students and said it was being sold at lower prices and the profits shared to teachers as incentives to motivate them to stay in the school.

Mr Ofosu-Ampofo said the borehole once meant for the school could not under any circumstance be used for a commercial purpose to serve the interest of the teachers other than the entire student body. He said once the school was faced with water problems and a borehole meant for the students was being used to produce water and sold to them, tension would always mount because the students would feel cheated. Mr Ofosu-Ampofo gave an example of the Aburi Girls Presbyterian Senior High School that has sachet water plant but serves the students free of charge because the PTA funded the project as a means of addressing the acut= e water problem of the school.

He said it was not proper for a public facility to be used for commercial ventures to serve the interest of a few and so they should consider levying the students to pay for the project and then supply the water to them free whiles proceeds from the sale to the public would be invested in school projects.