The spokesperson for Hon. Dr. Osei Yaw Adutwum, Yaw Opoku Mensah, has pushed back strongly against claims made by blogger “Amaro Shakur Ghana” in a recent YouTube broadcast titled “See Wickedness: Will Never Complete This – Akufo-Addo & NPP Abandoned Prez Mahama E-Block School E!!”, describing the assertions as misleading and politically motivated.
Speaking on behalf of the former Minister for Education, Mr. Opoku Mensah said the commentary surrounding the Drobonso school project distorts the facts and ignores what he called the “real story” behind the institution’s challenges and subsequent reforms.
According to him, the facility in question was originally initiated under former President John Dramani Mahama as the Drobonso Community Day School, located in the northeastern part of the Ashanti Region. The school was constructed as part of the E-Block Community Day Senior High School initiative, designed to expand access to secondary education.
However, Mr. Opoku Mensah contended that the project suffered from fundamental planning issues. He noted that the school was sited more than three kilometres outside the main Drobonso township in what he described as a remote and sparsely populated area. Despite this location, it was built strictly as a day school, without boarding facilities.
“When the school was first opened as a day institution, only one student enrolled,” he claimed, arguing that the development exposed serious accessibility and viability concerns.
“A day school located in a sparsely populated and hard-to-reach area will naturally struggle,” he explained. “Parents cannot trek long distances daily, and students cannot commute from surrounding villages without reliable transportation. That is not politics; it is common sense.”
Mr. Opoku Mensah said the appropriate response at the time was not to abandon the project, but to address what he described as a structural flaw in its original conception. Under the administration of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, he said, the school was completed and converted from a purely day-school model into a boarding institution.
He indicated that dormitory blocks were added to improve access for students from distant communities, alongside the provision of furniture, chairs, and essential teaching and learning materials. He credited the reforms to the broader education agenda spearheaded by Hon. Dr. Yaw Adutwum during his tenure.
According to him, the upgraded facility was expected to be operational by 2025. However, he alleged that the current National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration has not moved to operationalise the school despite the modifications undertaken.
Mr. Opoku Mensah further stated that similar interventions were carried out in other communities where E-Block schools had struggled with low enrolment and operational difficulties, including Adansi Apagya, Nsawora, and Adugyama. In one instance, he noted, a school named after the late President John Evans Atta Mills also faced challenges but is now functioning following upgrades and adjustments.
“The question should not be about partisan pride,” he argued. “It should be about viability. A school that cannot attract students is not a monument; it is a miscalculation. Leadership is not about cutting ribbons; it is about making institutions work.”
The rebuttal comes at a time of renewed political debate over the planning, accessibility, and long-term sustainability of community day senior high schools across the country. While critics argue that some E-Block projects were poorly sited or left incomplete, defenders maintain that subsequent administrations have had a responsibility to make them functional rather than weaponise them for political gain.
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