About fifty-seven (57) public Senior High Schools (SHSs) have been fumigated in the Ashanti Region under the national fumigation exercise against bedbugs in SHSs currently on-going across the country.
A total of one hundred and thirty-four (134) SHSs in forty-three (43) districts in the region are expected to be fumigated.
The exercise—which is being carried out by the Vector Control Unit of Zoomlion Ghana Limited (ZGL)—under the auspices of the Ministry of Education—will cover about four hundred (400) SHSs in the country.
It is targeted at ridding the SHSs of bedbugs, cockroaches, ants and other harmful insects and reptiles, and to create a conducive environ for academic work.
Schools in the Ashanti Region that were fumigated (on Thursday, April 23, and Friday April 24,) included St. Mary’s Girls’ SHS Juaso SHTS, Juaben SHS, Effiduasi Commercial SHS, Nurul Ameen Islamic SHS, Barekese SHS, Mpasatia SHS, Nkawie SHS, Nyinahin SHS, Afia Kobi SHS, T.I Ahmadiyya SHS, and Effiduase Asokore SHS.
Also fumigated were Krobea Asante Technical, Tijjani SHS, St. Joseph’s, Tweneboah Koduah SHS, Dadease Agric Kwumawu, Wesley SHS, Oweriman SHS, Ofoase SHS, Odumase SHS, Collins SHS, Benkoman SHS, Toase SHS, Atwima Kwanwoma SHS, Bompata Presby among others.
In all the schools, the Zoomlion team sprayed facilities including classrooms, dining halls, pantries, dormitories, laboratories, offices, staff members’ bungalows, chop boxes, and mattresses.
The various heads of these schools applauded the initiative of the education ministry and Zoomlion to help rid their schools, especially of bedbugs and their nuisance.
However, they appealed that the fumigation exercise is done on yearly basis, adding that, that will help in dealing with the bedbugs.
The heads of these schools used the opportunity to draw the attention of government to problems confronting their schools. These problems ranged from lack of science laboratories, limited classroom blocks and dormitories, inadequate desks, among many other graving issues.
Against that backdrop, they pleaded with the government through the ministry of education to come to their aid.
The exercise is expected to continue on Monday, April 27, 2020.