Five months after the Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central, Isaac Adongo, promised to hand over a renovated primary school and ensure the relocation of nursery pupils from a dilapidated classroom block, the projects remain unfinished or unused, leaving children exposed to the same conditions the interventions were intended to address.
An A1 News investigation has found that renovation works at Bolgatanga Experimental Primary School have stalled for more than five months, while a newly constructed three-unit classroom block at Tindonsobilgo remains locked despite assurances that pupils would be relocated there by September 2026.
At Tindonsobilgo, nursery pupils and their teachers continue to use an old building with cracked walls and loose roofing sheets, which residents describe as a death trap.
“Anytime the wind blows, I always feel like running away, but if I run out of the building, I worry about the students. So, we just pray that nothing happens to this building because it is unfit for purpose,” a teacher told A1 News.
The findings come months after Mr Adongo publicly assured residents and school authorities that the interventions would be completed to provide safer learning environments for pupils.
Experimental Primary School: A promised May handover
In April 2026, renovation works began at Bolgatanga Experimental Primary School, one of the oldest basic schools in the Bolgatanga Municipality.
The intervention followed an A1 Radio report two years earlier that highlighted the deteriorating condition of the school’s infrastructure and the risks it posed to pupils and teachers.
During an inspection visit on May 2, 2026, Mr Adongo acknowledged that the renovation had taken longer than initially anticipated because engineers had identified additional defects requiring attention.
“It is one of the traditional schools in the constituency. This school rivals the preparatory school, but it was in a state of disrepair, so we decided to give it a facelift. We intended to complete it before students returned, but as engineers assessed the site, they kept identifying additional issues. Our goal is to do it once and do it well,” he said.
The contractor working on the project was more specific about the completion date.
“What is left is minimal. Students can remain in session while we complete the external works. By Tuesday, God willing, workers will return to the site, and we expect completion by Sunday, May 10,” the contractor assured.
Mr Adongo subsequently announced plans to officially hand over the renovated school on May 20.
“We want to return on the 20th to officially hand over the school to the authorities,” he stated.
However, the promised handover did not take place.
Five months without work
When A1 News returned to Bolgatanga Experimental Primary School in November 2026, renovation activities had stopped.
No workers or contractor were present, and school authorities confirmed that work had not resumed for more than five months.
The inspection revealed that electrical installations and some external works remained incomplete, leaving pupils and teachers to use a partially renovated facility.
During the MP’s May inspection, the school’s headmistress, Mercy Yamtot, had appealed for the renovation of the school’s deteriorating toilet facility to be included in the project.
She raised concerns about the safety and sanitation challenges posed by the facility, particularly for female pupils.
However, teachers and community members who spoke to A1 News during the follow-up visit expressed uncertainty about whether the toilet facility would be addressed.
“We were happy when they started, but now we are confused. The work has stopped and the children are the ones suffering,” a teacher who requested anonymity said.
Tindonsobilgo: New classrooms locked while pupils remain in old building
At Tindonsobilgo, A1 News found another school project where assurances made during the MP’s May 2 inspection had not been fulfilled.
Mr Adongo had inspected a newly constructed three-unit classroom block, furnished and intended to accommodate nursery pupils who had been learning in a deteriorating structure.
The existing nursery building has cracked walls and loose roofing sheets, raising concerns among parents and teachers about the safety of children using it.
During the inspection, the MP assured residents that pupils would be relocated to the new classroom block when schools reopened for the 2026/2027 academic year in September.
Community members also appealed for a fence wall around the new facility because of its proximity to a busy road. They further requested the completion of a kitchen to support the Ghana School Feeding Programme.
“This will be done before the pupils start the academic year in September,” Mr Adongo assured.
But when A1 News visited the community in November, the new classroom block remained locked and unused.
No fence wall had been constructed, while the kitchen structure was still without a roof.
Despite the availability of the new classrooms, nursery pupils and their teachers continued to use the old, deteriorating building.
A parent, Adindaa Aboa, expressed disappointment over the delay.
“We thought by September our children would be safe. But they are still in that death trap,” the parent said.
The continued use of the old building has heightened concerns among parents and teachers, who fear that its deteriorating condition could endanger pupils.
Contractors, MP yet to explain delays
A1 News made several attempts to contact the contractors responsible for the projects by telephone to establish why the renovation at Experimental Primary School had stalled and why the new classroom block at Tindonsobilgo had not been put into use.
The attempts were unsuccessful.
At the time of filing this report, Mr Adongo and his spokesperson had also not responded to requests for explanations regarding the status of the projects.
It remains unclear whether funding constraints, outstanding construction works or other administrative issues are responsible for the delays.
For residents and school authorities in both communities, the immediate concern is when the promised facilities will become fully available for use.
At Experimental Primary School, pupils continue to learn in a partially renovated environment. At Tindonsobilgo, a newly constructed classroom block remains locked while nursery pupils continue to occupy a deteriorating building.
Five months after the promised May handover at Experimental Primary School, and two months after the September relocation deadline at Tindonsobilgo, neither assurance has been fulfilled.
A1 News will continue to track the projects.
A1 Radio | 101.1 MHz | David Azure | Bolgatanga
