Prestea SHS Students Protest Unauthorized Use of Campus Road by Community Members
Students of Prestea Senior High School in the Western Region have staged a peaceful protest to demand an immediate end to what they describe as the unlawful use of their campus road by residents of Prestea and surrounding communities.
According to the students, the continuous use of the internal campus route by vehicles and motorbikes has created a dangerous learning environment, leading to a number of accidents over the years. They allege that persistent over-speeding on the school compound has resulted in several knockdowns, with some of the injured students left unattended by the culprits who often flee the scene. In such cases, school authorities are left to bear the medical costs.
The students say the situation has become intolerable, disrupting academic activities on a daily basis and putting thousands of students at constant risk.
Videos from the scene show students moving desks and chairs from their classrooms to block access to the road, while many wore red armbands to signify their frustration and determination. Police personnel were later deployed to the school to maintain order as the demonstration unfolded.
The students explained that the issue dates back about five years, when the community appealed to the school for temporary access to the campus road. The route, they said, was to serve as a temporary bypass for just three months while repairs were being made to a damaged bridge on the main Prestea access road.
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However, despite the completion of the bridge, community members have continued to rely on the campus road as their preferred route—an arrangement the students say is now jeopardizing their safety.
“The community came to plead with the school about five years ago that they wanted to use the campus road for three months to enable them complete a bridge that connects their main road. It’s been five years, and they are still using the campus road,” Boys’ Prefect Abdul Basit told Connect FM.
“A number of our students have sustained various degrees of injury as a result of knockdowns. The over-speeding of vehicles and motorbikes distracts learning activities, and we cannot continue to endure. We have abandoned our classrooms to embark on a peaceful demonstration to register our anger to the community that enough is enough. They can no longer use our campus as their main road.”
The students are calling on school authorities, the Ghana Education Service, and local government officials to intervene urgently by restricting access to the campus road and ensuring their safety.
Meanwhile, police presence on the school premises has helped calm tensions, though students insist they will not return to full academic work until their concerns are addressed.
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