Larbikrom Junior High School in the Atiwa District has initiated its own feeding programme to enhance school attendance among pupils.

The feeding programme, which the school termed “Self Help Project”, is also expected to improve pupils’ academic performance.

The pupils, with the help of their teachers, for a year now has been farming on a three-acre land after school hours to produce food stuffs to keep the project running.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview, Mr Edward Nodzo, headmaster of the school said enrollment was discouraging and academic performance stood at five per cent.

He said efforts to salvage the situation compelled the school to commence the feeding programme to retain the pupils in school and improve on their performance.

“It was just last academic year that our performance rose from five to 30 per cent,” he said.

GNA gathered that women in the community voluntarily served as cooks, using foodstuffs from the school farm to prepare two meals for the pupils on scheduled days.

One of the cooks told the GNA that their voluntary service was the only way they could encourage their wards to stay in school.

The Larbikrom community put up a three-unit structure with ancillary facilities to establish the school some 22 years ago.

Total enrollment from JHS one to three currently stood at 56 and some of the pupils expressed joy about the feeding project to the GNA.

“The feeding project has reduced the economic burden on my parents,” said Mercy Kwabea, a form two pupil.

According to the headmaster, a rainstorm hit the school three years ago and ripped off its roofs and destroyed many items.

He disclosed that community members had to assist to re-roof the building, saying, “work has reached its final stage but inadequate funding has stalled it.”

Mr Nodzo appealed for government’s urgent intervention to ameliorate the situation. He also appealed for a library and a computer laboratory to boost pupils’ interest in school.

Mr Charles Tetteh, Chairman of the Parent-Teacher Association, expressed worry that the school had exhausted all its resources to solve most of the challenges.

He therefore appealed to the government to urgently come to their aid.

Nana Asah Larbi, Chief of Larbikrom, called on the Ghana Education Service to pay prime attention to rural schools when allocating resources and logistics.

He was worried about the delays in supplying logistics and educational materials to schools.

GNA