With 15 days to go for the Basic Examination Certificate Exam (BECE), the fate of Junior High School students in Chereponi in the North East Region hangs in a balance following clashes between Konkombas and Chokosis.

Leader of the EP Junior High School has raised concerns about how students are struggling to study in preparation towards the 2019 BECE.

According to a teacher and native of the area, Masoma Azizs Awufor, students in the conflict area had neither covered enough nor had examinable mock for the upcoming BECE.

He said schools had to be closed down for weeks which has affected the classes and studies of the BECE students.

“Almost all of our schools have been closed. We have 15 days for our students to sit in for their BECE…..when we were about to test our students, the conflict came. So our students could not have the first mock… and now we have a few days to go,” he said.

He noted that all the papers they prepared for the students’ mock have been left unattended to because of the ongoing conflict.

Speaking with Starr Fm, the Head Teacher of the School, Samuel BK Ajari who is also the Chereponi District Chairman for the Ghana National Association of Teachers, said both teachers and students are traumatized.

He added that teachers have left the students to their fate as they struggle for their own survival.

“The students are all traumatized, likewise the teachers too… Because of this thing, there has been an exodus of teachers moving out of this district seeking refuge outside the conflict zone.”

He has therefore called on the government to bring teachers to the area to help in the preparation of the BECE exams of the students.

The School Prefect of the Chereponi Ep Junior High School, Rahinatu Muhammed Alhassan, added that she had to leave Chereponi on the 19th of April due to the unsafe condition in the area.

She said she had no choice but to return and prepare for the examination.

She also lamented that the conflict only appears to escalate when the students plan to come together for studies.

“I feel very sad….. It is so appalling. When we were ready to write our mock, this same attack came… when we came back and got prepared again… the fight also started [again],” she noted.

The prefect added that she cannot confirm students in that area are fully ready and prepared for the BECE.

Background

The feud between the Chokosis and Konkombas has historical antecedents. There are conflicting accounts as to the root cause of conflict.

However, the recent clashes between the two ethnic groups which have claimed several lives and destroyed properties is linked to a dispute over a piece of land.

By Nana Akua Gyidie