BUCHANAN, Grand Bassa – The administration of the Kpahnay Town Public School in Buchanan has launched a call for donors to assist in completing its high school annex.

The school is the second government high school in Buchanan and was built to reduce the congestion at the Bassa High school. The school currently only accommodates up to 10^th graders due to limited space. It is expected to be a full high school this September.

According to the principal of the school, Theophilus Frankyu, when he took over, the school was at elementary level, but with the help of the Parent Teacher Association, two annexes hosting the junior high division were built from 2014 to 2016.

He said that in the last academic year, the school had 1,800 students; however, he expects more than 2,000 students this year due to the affordability of the fees. “The rising cost of attending private schools means many parents have no option but to send their children to public schools, “ Frankyu noted.

He said the third annex, which is currently under construction, contains two offices, six bathrooms, three classrooms, and a science laboratory. He put the total cost of the third annex project at US$110,000 and if completed, he says it will enable the school to be a full high school.

Through contributions from parents and school fees, the school completed 45 percent of the building’s construction, and it is now at the roof level.

Frankyu told The Bush Chicken that the school needs materials such as cement, nail, plank, zinc, steel rods, and paint to be completed before the upcoming academic school year begins.

“We don’t want money,” he said. “What we need is the material, but if you give money, fine.”

He added that they had not hired workers for the project: “The parents are the one doing this job, so we did not pay five cents to anyone to build it, so we need the materials.”

The principal is appealing to the government, NGOs, and international partners to come to their aid to complete the school. One of the classrooms has already been furnished by UNICEF to be used as a laboratory for this academic year. He says he only feels comfortable reaching out to others for help because the school and community have done their part.

He said citizens should not always wait for the government for everything; sometimes, they should get involved, as his school’s parent-teacher association demonstrated.

“We know that this government is under constraint. We know this government is facing a lot of challenges. We need to buttress this government’s efforts,” he said. “If we can do our best as citizens [and] community dwellers, I think the government will be proud of this county, and it will encourage other counties and other parents to join us.”

Featured photo by Sampson David