Contractor Locks Classroom Block at Odoben SHS Over Unpaid Debt, Disrupting Academic Activities

Academic work at the Odoben Senior High School (SHS) in the Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District of the Central Region has been brought to an abrupt halt after a contractor locked up an eight-unit classroom block over a long-standing unpaid debt. The action, which has left hundreds of students stranded, stems from a payment dispute dating back more than a decade.

The contractor, Mr. Kofi Gyansah, Chief Executive Officer of Rollga Construction Limited, revealed that he was awarded the contract by the school’s Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) in 2010 to construct an eight-unit classroom block. The facility, which was about 90 percent complete, was handed over for use in 2012 due to pressing classroom shortages. However, despite the school using the facility for over a decade, Mr. Gyansah claims he has not received the agreed payment for his work.

According to the contractor, he has made several attempts over the years to retrieve the money owed him but to no avail. “Every effort to retrieve my money yielded no positive results. They keep giving one excuse after the other,” he lamented. Mr. Gyansah stated that the situation has caused him financial distress, as the project cost involved “several millions of Ghana cedis.”

PTA Dissolution and Free SHS Blamed for Delay

Mr. Gyansah partly attributed the delay in payment to policy changes within the education sector, particularly the introduction of the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme and the subsequent dissolution of Parent-Teacher Associations. He explained that the PTA was responsible for awarding the contract and was expected to pay for the construction work. However, following the government’s decision to dissolve PTAs after implementing Free SHS, the association ceased to function, leaving many locally funded projects in limbo.

“The contract was awarded to me by the PTA, but the government dissolved the association after introducing the Free SHS policy. I was expecting the government to absorb the debt, but that didn’t happen,” he explained.

Mr. Gyansah further revealed that he had been patient over the years because government officials had assured him that payment would be made. “Last year I tried to lock the facility, but government officials pleaded that I should wait until after the elections and they’d pay me. Yet I have not been paid a dime as we speak,” he said in frustration.

Locking of the Building Brings Classes to a Halt

After years of unsuccessful attempts to recover his money, the contractor has now taken drastic action by locking up the entire classroom block. He also placed notices warning against unauthorized entry, effectively shutting down classes for hundreds of students who depend on the facility.

According to reports, the locked classrooms were crucial to the school’s daily operations, accommodating several streams of students. The sudden closure has therefore paralyzed academic activities, forcing school authorities to scramble for temporary alternatives to continue lessons.

The contractor insists his actions are justified, describing the school’s continued use of the facility without payment as illegal. “They have used the building, which is over 90 percent complete, since 2012. That itself is illegal, so I am not expecting them to go back into it until I am paid. Otherwise, I’ll institute legal action against the school authorities for trespassing,” he warned.

Impact on the School and Students

The locked facility has had a severe impact on the school community. Before its closure, the eight-unit block was instrumental in expanding the school’s infrastructure and accommodating the growing student population. The project enabled Odoben SHS to increase enrollment from about 200 students to over 1,800, and also allowed the school to introduce new academic programmes.

With the current development, many students are reportedly left without classrooms, and lessons have been disrupted. Teachers are struggling to manage large class sizes in the remaining available rooms, while others have resorted to conducting lessons under trees and in makeshift spaces.

Calls for Urgent Intervention

The development has sparked calls for urgent government intervention to resolve the matter. Education stakeholders, parents, and community leaders are appealing to the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES) to step in and negotiate a settlement with the contractor to restore normal academic activities.

Observers argue that the issue reflects a broader challenge of project financing and accountability in Ghana’s education sector, where many community-funded projects remain unpaid or abandoned after changes in government policy.

As it stands, both the students and teachers of Odoben SHS remain victims of an administrative lapse that has dragged on for over a decade. Unless swift action is taken to resolve the payment dispute, the academic future of hundreds of young learners will continue to hang in the balance — a situation that highlights the need for stronger collaboration between government and local stakeholders in the management of educational infrastructure.