Tinjase, a frontier community in the Nkwanta North District of the Oti Region is appealing for a Senior High School.

The community of over 5,000 people is located more than 35 km from the district capital of Kpassa, where the closest senior high school is located.

Senior High Students from the area not in boarding facilities are forced to rent apartments, making schooling expensive.

Uber, Mamun Kwame II, Chief of the area who made the appeal at the commissioning of a small town water system for the community, cited the distance and said it discouraged many from schooling their wards.

He said the community’s population had crossed the threshold required for the establishment of senior high school.

The Chief also appealed for roads in the area to be constructed to aid its development, and said the people must be willing to support its progress.

Mr Konjah Nlamah, a father who voiced his concerns to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said there were no commercial vehicles running in the area, and that motorbike trips to school in Kpassa daily was unsustainable.

He said he was as a result forced to rent an apartment in Kpassa for his daughter in senior high.

“She only comes home on Fridays to take foodstuffs. Renting for her is affecting our income. We pay school fees and then rent rooms for them,” Mr Nlamah lamented.

He said the situation makes monitoring of school attendance and academic progress a challenge for parents and other stakeholders, and said the establishment of a senior high school in the area was crucial.

Mr Nlamah said stakeholders must consider the growing population, and also the sprawling surrounding communities including; Nabu, Donkor Akura, and Kofi Akura.

“We need an SHS so the district can grow further. A lot of the people cannot send their children to school because of rent among others. Roads are bad and vehicles cannot come here especially during the rainy season,” he said.

Mr Nlamah added that health situations that required attention at major health facilities suffered the bad roads and also appealed to stakeholders to provide an advanced hospital for the area.

He further noted the lack of a vocational training school, and that patrons should consider the skill development needs of the teeming youth.

The Tinjase small town water supply project is a GHC 2.3 million undertaken by non-profit Global Communities with support from the USAID as part of a WASH for Health project.

The water supply project provides sustainable access to potable water for Tinjase and surrounding communities, and is available for tapping into individual homes.