Begoro, March 3, GNA - Fire burnt down part of the girls' dormitory of the Begoro Presbyterian Senior High School, on Sunday, causing extensive damage to the property of 120 students with some of the victims preparing for their West Africa Senior High School Certificate Examination (WASCE).

The fire, suspected to have been caused by an electrical fault, started around 1900 hours and burnt mattresses, boxes, school uniforms, text books and other educational materials of the 120 students. The headmaster of the school, Mr Emmanuel Charway, made this known when the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo visited the school, on Monday, to inspect the damage caused by the fire.

At the time of the incident, most of the students had gone home for mid-term holidays and had left behind their belongings.

The Regional Minster, considering the extent of damage and the trauma the students would suffer, directed the school authorities to resume school on March 10, to allow the Fanteakwa District Assembly, with the Regional Directorate of Education, to institute relief measures for the victims and clear the debris left behind.

He suggested to the school authorities to also assist the victims with counselling and other support systems to give them sound minds for their examinations and other academic activities. The Regional Minster appealed to the Minster of the Interior to provide each district with a fire tender for quick control of fire outbreaks, adding that, the eight fire tenders serving the 21 districts in the region were inadequate.

He also appealed to organizations to go to the aid of the students while the Akosombo Textiles Limited (ATL) and other textile manufacturing companies should donate clothes for the students. The Member of Parliament for the area, Mr Kwasi Amankwah Asiamah, asked parents not to panic because efforts were being made to ensure that activities in the school continued.

Later in a consultative meeting, the Fanteakwa District Assembly, the Member of Parliament for Fanteakwa and the Regional Director of Education, agreed that all the 120 students affected by the fire incident should be provided with school uniforms, sandals, mattresses and cover cloths as a matter of urgency to help them settle when they come back from the holidays.