Contractor Locks Odoben SHS Classrooms Over 14-Year Unpaid Debt, Halting Lessons
Academic activities at Odoben Senior High School (SHS) in the Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District, Central Region, have ground to a halt after a contractor padlocked an eight-unit classroom block on October 13, 2025, demanding payment for a 14-year-old debt.
Kofi Gyansah, CEO of Rollga Construction Limited, claims the school’s Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) awarded him the GH¢ several million contract in 2010, but despite 90% completion, no payments have been made since 2012, when the facility began use. “Every effort to retrieve my money yielded no positive results. They keep giving one excuse after the other,” Gyansah told Citi News, attributing delays to the Free SHS policy’s dissolution of PTAs and unfulfilled government absorption promises.
The block, which boosted enrollment from 200 to over 1,800 students and enabled new programs, is now cordoned off, affecting hundreds of learners. Gyansah warned of legal action for trespass if accessed, having previously attempted to lock it in 2024 but relenting after election pleas.
The Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District Education Directorate and GES have yet to comment, but the standoff highlights Free SHS implementation challenges, including inherited debts straining school infrastructure. Similar incidents, like a 2024 PTA debt crisis at Bompata SHS, underscore the need for government intervention to resolve legacy contracts
