Dangerous reptiles, particularly pythons and other snakes, have been invading the Agona Akoroma ADA Primary School, and threatening the lives of pupils and teachers of the school. The reptiles have become frequent visitors to the school from a nearby forest reserve, and appear, sometimes, during class hours, sending both teachers and pupils running for cover.

One such reptile, an Anaconda which visited the school during class hours on Monday, was pursued to its hide out and killed. A search in the area revealed that many of them had dug holes close to the school as their abode and laying eggs in them as well. Last Friday, a python which had hid under the sand in the school compound was also killed, Isaac Mbir, one of the teachers disclosed to the times on Monday.

“Although they (reptiles) pose a threat to all of us, we see it as part of the hazards of the work. They have been coming always and we kill them,” Mr. Mbir said. Some of the pupils who fear reptiles usually absent themselves from school, therefore affecting attendance.

For the past 12 years, the school had been under trees and improvised classrooms until four years ago through the assistance of the Member of Parliament for the area John Kwesi Agyabeng, a three-classroom block for classes Two, Three and six were put up. Currently, the kindergarten is being housed under trees while classes One, Four and Five are under a shed roofed with palm fronds.

In a telephone interview with the Times, Mr. Mbir attributed the frequent visits of the snakes to the nearby forest, noting that the rainy season had also compounded the situation. The reptiles come out mostly after the rains to warm themselves and the school have become a strategic point for them.

He recalled that there were occasion when some of the reptiles fell from the trees under which the pupils were studying, sending them running helter-skelter.

Mr. Mbir appealed to the government to as a matter of urgency intervene to avert any calamity.