The following Report is from a Site Visit to Modern Preparatory School conducted by Christian Poirier (Singer-Kids4Kids) in August, 2006:
Modern Preparatory School is located in Wodome Peki, in the South Dayi District, a rural area of Ghana. There are 1,000 inhabitants made up mainly of farmers and a few government workers. Wodome Peki is a poor community and the housing is generally made from mud with a few concrete structures. It is a pleasant and clean rural area, but it is very deprived of resources and development in general. The younger students live locally and the older students tend to come from outside of the community. Modern Preparatory School has been operating continuously for 24 years. It consists of 5 buildings, 9 classrooms, one canteen structure and a spacious new church in the center of the complex. There is an additional single, large building under construction. The school grounds are spacious, shaded with many trees, and quite attractive. The school buildings are simple long narrow shelters with concrete floors but with no walls except the dividers between classes. This would indicate that there are problems with water entering the class space when it rains. The school's construction is very simple, but attention has seemingly been paid to building structures that last. The school also has both water (a spigot supplied with municipal water) and electricity, which is very rare among the private schools in the area. The grounds and classrooms are tidy and well organized and the infrastructure, such as classroom furniture, well maintained. This site was far and away the best maintained of the four I visited in South Dayi. As mentioned above, there are improvements underway but the pace of their completion is undoubtedly slowed by lack of capital.
Modern Preparatory School serves 268 students in grades ranging from pre-kindergarten through Secondary School. Typical class size is 35 students. The proprietor of the school is Reverend Seth Bansat. There are a total of 16 teachers, of which one is a part-time trained teacher and the others are all Secondary School graduates. On-site teacher training is provided at the school. Time spent teaching at the school ranges from one to eight years and teachers earn between 300,000 to 450,000 cidis a month ($33 - $50) depending upon their seniority. Tuition per term ranges from 140,000 cidis ($15) for kindergarten to 250,000 cidis ($27) for primary school and 300,000 cidis ($33) for Secondary School. Currently, eight children are provided with free education, due to having lost their fathers. No family discounts are provided. The average family income in Wodome Peki is between 200,000 and 500,000 cidis a month ($22 and $55) and therefore most families in the immediate area cannot afford the school's fees.
Modern Preparatory School has very good sanitation facilities for the region. There are ten seat toilets (known as KVLP) - five for boys and five for girls. These are washed once a week and the students are provided with water for their personal sanitation. A clean eating area is needed (the canteen was referred to as a "semi-canteen"). First aid is available and, when necessary, a taxi is called (paid for by the school) to take sick children to a local hospital. The school could use having either a full-time or part-time nurse and medical supplies on the premises. Fortunately, the school has a reliable electrical supply; however, it does not have an internet connection. The prospect of setting up internet service is being researched by the proprietor's son, who lives in Accra. The school will soon have two computers that are being donated for its computer lab (to be located in the new building currently under construction). There is a computer teacher on staff who can provide maintenance for the new computers, once they arrive and are put into operation.
Reverend Bansat was very eager to participate in the Singer-Kids4Kids program and was engaged throughout the interview, asking me many questions about the Harry Singer Foundation and the new Kids4Kids program. During our tour of the school grounds he was very excited about the prospect for development at the school, such as the possibility of putting walls on the existing class blocks. Modern Preparatory School appeared to be the best equipped, and most likely the best managed, of any of the South Dayi schools.
Modern Preparatory School's needs range from $250 to provide medical supplies and a part-time nurse to $4,000 for a school bus. Other items needed by the school include library furniture, teaching aids, additional computers and a photocopy machine.
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