Akosombo Dam spillage: Assessing the impact on victims education | The Big Stories
Akosombo Dam spillage: Assessing the impact on victims education | The Big Stories
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NewsTranscript
00:00 This is the AM show, welcome back. Now we head to the Volta region and parts of
00:06 other regions affected by the spillage of the Akosumbu Dam. Today we're
00:12 focusing however on how this has impacted education among those who have
00:18 been hardest hit. Schools have been submerged, inundated with water and
00:24 education has come to a standstill in some of these communities. We ask what is
00:29 the way forward and how can we reintegrate those affected back into our
00:35 educational system. Well this morning we have a conversation with Divine Pehe,
00:39 Senior Programs Manager, Africa Education. Watch he joins the conversation. Don't
00:46 you forget as part of this conversation as well we're also going to be looking
00:49 at yesterday's rain and what the impact has been in your community. But let's
00:55 start with Divine Pehe on this beat. Good morning Divine. Morning. It's good to have
01:01 you join the conversation but before we veer into the educational sector, the
01:06 impact of all of this on education and the way forward, I'd like to pick your
01:10 brains on what you make of everything that has happened. The spillage of the
01:15 dam which will continue, the measures that have been adopted and there's also
01:21 been talk about a state of emergency. I'm just asking for your layman's
01:26 opinion on what has been happening so far. All right thank you and good morning
01:31 to your viewers. Generally I think what has happened there is very unfortunate
01:37 and I think we shouldn't have been here. We could have put measures in place
01:44 before carrying out the spillage. Last year I understand the VRA also
01:52 intervened in carrying out the spillage but it didn't happen. So this year when they even
01:57 announced that people probably took it on a lighter note. So that could also
02:03 explain the magnitude of the impact that we are having. Otherwise people would have
02:08 maybe packed some of their few things and then some of them have waited before
02:12 the spillage probably caught up with them. But I think that this should be an
02:19 indication for us to put measures in place such that in the future we do not
02:23 have what's called this, I have been hearing engineering speaking on this. They believe
02:28 that this is an engineering failure. I'm not an engineer but if indeed it is, I just
02:34 believe that they can bring solutions on board so that in the future we do not
02:38 have this happening. But I also want to comment on Corporate Ghana and other media
02:44 how they are mobilizing resources to assist the affected individuals. It is very
02:50 encouraging. I think this is the spirit of Ghanians. We are always there for people when
02:55 they are in need. I think it's very humbling to see how people are coming
02:59 on board to help and then we encourage that. As we mentioned in our
03:05 press release, I think one of the areas that people, especially the people, the
03:10 learning and needs support is learning materials. We see that most of the
03:14 donations are in the areas of food, medicine, mattresses and others. We so far have not seen
03:21 any learning materials being brought on board. We encourage Corporate Ghana as part of
03:27 their resource mobilization and support. They include learning materials for children that are
03:32 not taught. Alright and you've already veered into that conversation when it comes to
03:39 education. But how much have you gathered so far in terms of what this has meant
03:44 for those people in the catchment areas, of course all parts of the Tong area,
03:50 north, central, south and other communities stretching, you know, even beyond that
03:57 catchment area, spilling over into different regions. What have you gathered
04:01 in terms of the impact this has had on education there? Alright, so far our
04:07 monitoring has revealed that the impact when it comes to education being
04:12 interrupted is actually in three communities, i.e. north zone, south zone and then through east, other
04:21 neighboring districts. Also the situation is also in their tradition when it comes
04:28 to education, school hasn't been closed down, but these three districts who have been closed down
04:33 because most of them, their classrooms are actually in major data water and
04:38 then also some of them, their classrooms will have to be used at safe haven. So when it
04:44 comes to these three district education schools, they are disrupted and we are talking about over 97,000
04:52 people that have been affected. In fact that is the case. Divine, just hold for me,
04:56 pardon me, my apologies for doing this, but let me also bring in the General
05:01 Secretary of NAT, Thomas Moussa. The reason I'm interjecting is because he is on the
05:07 ground currently with the team assessing what we are talking about. So Divine, with
05:11 your permission, I'll quickly do that. Mr. Moussa, a very good morning to you, sir.
05:16 Morning, to all your listeners.
05:21 It's really good to have you. Paint a picture for us, where exactly do you find
05:25 yourself currently and what is the state of what you're witnessing? What are you
05:31 seeing now? Let's start from there.
05:34 I am currently at MEPE, waiting for the entire team to come, particularly the officers on the ground who went to the work in the chalet, so that we could start the movement.
05:47 So we are currently at MEPE, waiting for the team to turn up. So in the next 15 minutes, they will come and then we will start to make
05:55 the move. So maybe in two hours' time I will have gone around and I can give you what I have personally seen. But we are yet to move into the river or whatever.
06:13 Is this a NAT team that is out there and why has this even become necessary for you to go on ground and assess the situation?
06:23 Yes. We are talking about a national issue. Our future is at stake in this particular matter. We cannot take it for granted at this particular time.
06:37 Remember, we have been in the Sustainable Development Goals that leaves no one behind. So we cannot afford at this particular time to leave others behind.
06:49 So right now, all the factories are in the water. Land is in the water, capital is in the water, and we are talking about labour in the water.
06:59 The people are now fighting about survival. So to the extent that they are fighting about survival, including all the professionals, that they are giving that
07:09 to our people, we cannot leave them alone. Whatever we can do to actually bring them on board and bring our people out of that particular situation, has to be done.
07:21 And that is why it is a national issue. And we initially in a form for a state of emergency to be declared, have provided for the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
07:33 So that we will be able to formalise the model for this to bring our people out of the situation they found themselves in.
07:39 So this is quite a very difficult time, a difficult moment for our brothers and sisters. Because of all the investments in down the drain, and like I've indicated, all the factories are currently in the water.
07:53 And we need to see how best we can bring them out.
07:55 I know you have to get running, but before you take leave of us, so at the end of this tour that you are embarking on to assess the situation, what are you hoping can be brought to bear?
08:09 I've been interacting with Divine Peh of Africa Education Watch, for example, and he's made mention of the fact that while there have been a lot of donations from corporate Ghana, among others,
08:19 we've not seen anybody, and pardon me if I'm wrong, donating textbooks and stuff, you know, learning materials to be specific. That's what he said.
08:31 So what are you hoping to achieve at the end of this, and will that inform what you reach out for, as far as those communities are concerned?
08:41 No. So we are here for two main reasons. The first one is to make donations to the people, and particularly the teachers here.
08:51 We need to make the standard donations that we want to make, because we need to first organize the teachers, bring them to the best shape of their minds.
09:02 Because as we speak now, they've lost everything. Like I indicated, they've lost their land, they've lost all their investments, capital, everything is gone.
09:09 They are now basically fighting for survival. And so we are here to make some donations to the students, and after that one, there's going to be another round of meetings.
09:19 That one specifically, as to how we'll be able to get the education in this time of emergency. Remember, education cannot wait, even though we have a very difficult situation on our hands.
09:34 Education can no longer wait. Because the children are growing, and if you go to the other areas of Oasansi, the children there are learning.
09:44 So we cannot say that the children in the lower Bosa and other surrounding environments will wait until it's over. We cannot say that.
09:52 So whatever research is done to destroy this, it's certainly designed. And remember, we need our teachers to share this in time.
09:59 And so after this particular donation, there will be another round of meetings, engage them to see how best we'll be able to take the rest of the issues.
10:08 I remember during the time of COVID, same was done. We need to actually discuss other modalities on how the bomb-free schools can start to speak, and all that.
10:18 So obviously it will be on the table. Because we don't have the infrastructure where we can say that we want to do blended kind of learning.
10:26 Where we say that we will engage them online, and all that. And let me say one thing finally.
10:31 Look, this should always bring to the fore, that we need more funding and more investment in education.
10:38 Because if there is a contradiction, the poor person will always become poorer.
10:42 What are some of the issues that the group of people who are involved, is the poor.
10:47 Those people who are behind the poverty line, they are the people involved in this thing.
10:52 A majority of them will go because of the poverty line again, because of the current situation.
10:57 Like I've told you, all the investment will come down the drain.
11:01 It will take them a year for them to recover. A year.
11:05 See whether or not they'll be able to recover is going to be another thing.
11:09 And so like I have said, we will make our donations today.
11:12 They have another round of meetings, and we have them taking the table, and we can deliver in time.
11:18 We are also taking consideration of the poor that are not going to become poor.
11:23 We also have to investigate that.
11:26 Well, Mr. Moussa, we wish you the best on this tour.
11:28 And when you are done, we'll try to connect with you as well to find out what it is that you have gathered by way of information, especially bothering on education.
11:38 Thomas Moussa is general secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers.
11:43 Coming back to you, Divine, thank you so much for allowing me to cross over.
11:48 What are your reactions having listened to Thomas Moussa before we continue from where we left off?
11:54 Yeah, I'm glad about what Thomas and the team are doing down there for teachers.
12:00 I believe teachers equally need the support in this trying time, especially when we are calling that we need to keep education going.
12:09 Teachers will need to be in the best frame of mind before they can even support their students in any way that they can.
12:16 So by being there for them, the NAG, being there for them, this is encouraging.
12:21 And then also be on the ground to assess the situation, to understand the magnitude of the impact and able to help the pupils as well.
12:30 It's very encouraging.
12:31 So I encourage other teacher unions, NAGRAD and the CCT, to also be on board.
12:37 So I'm very grateful to NAGRAD about the steps they are also taking.
12:42 At EduWatch, we are also putting ourselves together and mobilising resources, especially when it comes to the area of learning materials,
12:49 so that in the coming days we can also go to the communities to lend our support.
12:55 Now, in terms of the shortage of learning materials, or at least because we know that the children who would have been in school,
13:02 well, their schools are submerged currently, and it doesn't mean their learning must come to an abrupt stop.
13:11 There must be some mechanisms. I have not heard of any in terms of whatever groupings trying to teach these children.
13:19 From that standpoint, what is it that Africa Education Watch or DivitePEC would like to see done in the immediate term?
13:28 All right. Thank you. You are right that education is not going to hold because we are in this crisis.
13:35 And even in terms of a crisis, just like food and health services are important, education is also an integral part of humanitarian response.
13:45 So it's very important that we get our education going.
13:49 It will have to start with assessing the impact on education.
13:53 Of course, so far, by crude analysis, we know that classrooms are underwater.
13:59 Teachers' homes are also impacted, so they may not be in the best frame of mind to help their learning.
14:04 But when we want to move away from the classrooms, always we can identify safe lands, high lands that people can all the time gather.
14:14 I saw videos or pictures from your end of a TSS or an STTSS graduate that is mobilizing the people in that community
14:23 and giving them some sort of assistance in terms of teaching and learning.
14:26 Those are sort of things that we can encourage.
14:29 It may not necessarily have to be that we want to get the student going to run a normal school calendar,
14:36 like going at 8 a.m. and coming back at 3 p.m. No, it will not be like that.
14:40 But even if it has to be under 3, when then having some assistance within some short period, four hours, it's okay.
14:48 Because not just because of their learning, but also because of their psychological well-being in times like this,
14:56 leaving them unattended can actually impact their psychological well-being.
15:01 So it's very important that we ensure that they continue to see their colleagues, their classmates,
15:06 and then also continue to resist that form of learning, especially in the areas of literacy and numeracy.
15:13 So it may not necessarily have to be that we get the teachers doing that.
15:16 As the get-through that the STTSS graduate has demonstrated,
15:21 we can get community members that can be of help to provide some sort of assistance to these younger ones in the community.
15:29 It would be very, very encouraging.
15:31 And then also the Minister of Education can lend support to some of these people by providing them with their learning materials.
15:39 The corporate Ghana can also supply learning materials that they can be using.
15:43 But beyond that, we used some form of learning materials during the COVID time,
15:50 where we deployed some facilities like pre-recorded lessons on some devices.
15:57 They were being played on regional radio networks and other channels.
16:02 I think we can still deploy such devices.
16:04 We have private radio stations that are working in such communities
16:09 that we can still appeal to them with some of these recorded lessons that maybe some few hours of their time,
16:16 they can dedicate that to play some of the lessons and give the students parts of the resources that they are receiving.
16:23 Some solar-powered radio that they can tune in also to have this virtual form of learning.
16:29 That will also help.
16:30 So in terms of emergencies, we always have a way of keeping student learning in one way or the other.
16:37 So CENLOS, the National Distance Learning and Open Schooling, as an agency of the Ministry of Education,
16:43 they have some of these devices that we can follow them so that they can equally deploy.
16:48 And you spoke initially about not leaving anyone behind.
16:56 I believe you made mention of that.
16:58 But having also mentioned the Ghana Education Service and the Ministry of Education,
17:03 do you feel in this instance that they have done enough?
17:07 It's been over a week. It's been about two weeks and counting since this incident.
17:14 Have they done enough from where you sit in terms of extending some help to the learners, the pupils, the children in these affected communities?
17:28 I heard the Ministry of Education is intending to visit the community somewhere last week.
17:35 I don't know if that has happened.
17:38 But I feel two weeks or getting to the third week, I strongly believe they should have been on the ground if they haven't done so already.
17:46 They should have already accessed the impact of the flooding on education.
17:51 But you know, if you do not have a plan in place that provides you with guidance as to how to proceed with education during an emergency, it becomes so difficult.
18:01 That's why during COVID-19, 2020, we asked that the Ministry adopt Education in Emergency Plan
18:10 so that when we get to instances of crisis or emergency, that particular plan can give us some guidance as to how to carry on education.
18:19 But since 2020, we have seen little progress in operationalising that particular plan.
18:27 It's not yet been finalised yet before we talk of it being operationalised.
18:31 It's very important that we speed up processes to finalise that particular Education in Emergency Plan and then get it operationalised.
18:38 So that when we get into instances like this, we know that there's a document that we can quickly follow on
18:44 and we know what to do, what all the stakeholders can do in terms of keeping education running during an emergency or crisis.
18:51 Because even beyond the flooding, we know that in some parts of Ghana, we have instances of armed conflict that can easily cause schools to close down.
19:02 When it comes to instances like that, what needs to be done?
19:05 The guidance would have to, or the plan would have to give us a guidance as to what to do.
19:09 So I strongly believe if they are able to speed up processes to finalise that particular plan, when we get to instances like this,
19:17 they will already know what they would have to be doing.
19:19 They will not need to go back to assess the situation to see what they need to do.
19:23 They already have a master plan in place and they will just have follow through.
19:27 So it's very important.
19:28 I think this particular occurrence is also a point for us to again remind them that they need to speed up in finalising that particular Education in Emergency Plan
19:37 and then also get it to operationalise.
19:41 Let me also rope in as far as this conversation is concerned, Dr. Peter Pate-Ante of the Institute for Educational Studies.
19:50 Dr. Ante, a very good morning to you.
19:55 Hello, Doc. Can you hear me?
19:58 Yeah, I can hear you. Good morning.
20:00 Thank you for joining us this wet Tuesday morning as we contemplate what is happening in some parts of our country on the back of the spillage of the Akosu Mbodan.
20:13 We're talking education and it's all about what has happened and how it's affecting the educational structures.
20:21 We have schools that are literally underwater and now we are looking at what the way forward should be.
20:28 But from what you've seen so far, reactions from the Ghana Education Service, the Ministry of Education and people of goodwill.
20:38 What is your reading of the educational impact this will have on those pupils, those students, and what maybe we could be doing better as of now?
20:51 OK, good morning once again, and thank you for having me.
20:56 I need to state that it's unfortunate that our friends and family in the Vota region are going through this.
21:06 I am told that the thing is spreading to other places in Ghana and it's quite disheartening that in this time and age,
21:16 people would have to suffer such an artificial disaster, which I think could have been avoided.
21:25 Now, of course, if you look at the impact of the spillage, you would note that there's no way that education can continue in any of the areas.
21:34 Because I see houses of emerging water, sometimes even above the roof.
21:39 So there's no way that anybody can go to school.
21:44 So what normally is done is that in countries where there are planned systems, there is a quick deploy of emergency education in these areas.
21:59 And unfortunately, we do not have that in our country.
22:03 Our system actually is not designed to support the vulnerable and the marginalized.
22:08 And I need to make this point. Our educational system is not designed to support the vulnerable and the marginalized.
22:15 You see, over a month, Boko had this experience where because of the war, schools were closed down, teachers were leaving town and nothing was done.
22:25 So the issue went down a little before such activities were, I mean, educational activities were restored.
22:35 So in emergency situations, there is no plan in place to ensure that we'll be able to deploy education to the marginalized and the vulnerable in these places.
22:50 And that is what we are experiencing in the Wodar region again, just as happened in Boko.
22:55 So the Ghana Education Service can show goodwill.
22:59 The Minister of Education might talk about what they want to do.
23:05 But on paper, there is no plan designed that in case of emergencies like this in areas,
23:12 these are the steps that would be taken by the Minister of Education, by the Ghana Education Service,
23:18 by the various agencies to ensure that we will continue to deploy education to these people.
23:24 Quickly, how are these people, where have they been placed?
23:29 I was thinking that by this time, the mobile advanced system of the Ghana Library Service would have been at where these people are.
23:36 I mean, they are being housed or they are being kept, the places that they are keeping them.
23:43 I was thinking that by this time, that library mobile system that had been created should have moved in there
23:49 to ensure that some sort of reading and new work is going on.
23:55 I was thinking that by this time, the National Service Secretariat would have deployed people to the places where these people are being housed
24:04 to ensure that they offer some kind of, even if it is a one hour tutorial, one hour academic work for the kids in that area.
24:15 I would have been thinking that by this time, the Ghana Education Service would have gathered its teachers in that area
24:24 and would have given them specific guidelines to meet these kids, these children at this time,
24:31 to engage them maybe two hours under some shed or under some structure.
24:36 I was thinking that by this time, the Ministry of Education would have had a plan in place, rolling out online radio, television,
24:48 specifically targeted to these places.
24:51 It could be a video van with playing videos of a particular lesson where these kids would be gathered.
25:02 They could have engaged in Ghana Television Service or these cinema vans that we have around,
25:08 where the kids can be gathered, if not during the day, even in the night from, let's say, 4 to 6,
25:14 where these would be shown on a broad screen and lessons would be taught to kids.
25:18 These are what we do in emergency situations.
25:21 Unfortunately, we don't have that plan.
25:24 All that you will hear and all that you will see would be just talk, promises, and that is it.
25:29 What is your response so far from the educational authorities and generally what has been brought to bear as far as education is concerned?
25:41 Even while we commend the different groups that have contributed, learning materials are in short supply.
25:49 Are you disappointed?
25:51 Yes, because we just came out from COVID.
25:56 We learned a lot about how to deploy education in situations where we cannot have face-to-face contact.
26:05 We just came out from COVID where we have gathered experience in how to deploy to ensure that no child would be left behind in terms of the delivery of education.
26:16 In such situations, you have to also prioritize the area and provide the needed resources to ensure that you are able to deliver education to them.
26:26 That is why we talk about priorities.
26:28 In this case, you have something that is urgent that you need to attend to.
26:35 You block all other things you are doing and you focus to ensure that education is delivered to these people,
26:41 including giving them the needed resources that they need to be able to do that.
26:45 You block all avenues in terms of where you deploy your resources and ensure that your teachers are safe
26:52 and they will be in the position psychologically, mentally, to also assist the kids in the delivery of education.
27:00 That is not what is being done.
27:02 We are still stuck in our old ways of doing things.
27:05 We don't know how to prioritize.
27:06 We don't know what is an emergency situation.
27:09 That is why we are seeing this.
27:10 You see that most of the things that are going in are coming from the NGOs.
27:15 I listened to the MP who was talking about gathering some of the volunteers to start teaching the kids in the areas where they are being kept.
27:24 That is not how a planned educational system works.
27:28 It is unfortunate.
27:29 We have to say it as it is.
27:31 We don't have a plan for emergency situations.
27:33 This is another example.
27:36 If we are not careful, God forbid, but if we have another emergency situation like this, there is no plan.
27:42 We will gather here and then we will talk and nothing will be done.
27:45 It will just be promises, camera shows, pictures, and that is all that it is.
27:51 Well, a pretty stark situation we have to deal with.
27:56 I know the Ghana National Association of Teachers is on the ground.
28:00 We just interacted with Thomas Musa, who is the general secretary.
28:03 They are also assessing the situation this morning.
28:06 But gentlemen, mapping the way forward.
28:11 What if both of you are from education-related institutions, groups, if you could put together a roadmap, and you started on that trajectory, Dr. Ante,
28:24 if you could put together a roadmap for government, for the Ministry of Education.
28:29 I know they have their technocrats and all of that, but sometimes it takes someone looking on to proffer certain pertinent advice.
28:37 I'll start with you, Divine.
28:39 What would be that roadmap for you to ensure that these students, these pupils, in fact, don't get left behind?
28:50 First of all, again, I'll reiterate the point that we need to get our education and emergency plan in place.
28:58 It is very, very important.
29:00 As I mentioned, and as Peter also mentioned, we do not have any plan that is to provide a guideline that when we are in a situation like this,
29:12 this is what we are going to do when education is interrupted.
29:16 We do not have anything like that.
29:18 So we need to get that.
29:20 I know they have started a process of developing that plan.
29:23 They need to finalize that and get it operationalized, so that when we have armed conflict, as the Boko case Peter is mentioning,
29:31 and when we have blood, as we are seeing now, and then there's a health emergency or crisis like COVID-19, we know how to proceed with education.
29:39 But when it comes to the specific context of what is happening in Bota region and others surrounding the region,
29:47 it is very important that, again, the team gets to the ground, Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service,
29:53 they get to the ground and quickly assess the situation and know what they need to do.
29:58 Peter rightly mentioned the need for us to also deploy the information van of the Ghana Library authorities.
30:07 That's a brilliant idea that we also need to take into consideration and also quickly deploy.
30:13 I mentioned that during the COVID time, we have prerecorded learning content done by the senders.
30:21 We can still deploy that, that the learners can be using while they are at home.
30:25 But very importantly, we also have to get learning materials in the hands of these pupils,
30:30 that while they are at home, they themselves can be flipping through pages or books, just to ensure that they keep their brains engaged.
30:37 But again, we also need to look at the teachers, what support do they need so that quickly, if they can also come back to support the learners,
30:45 those that are still living in the community or surrounding areas, what support can they receive at this particular time?
30:51 We are seeing NACCHI doing their very best for them.
30:55 What support can they receive from the CES or the Ministry of Education, so that they can also learn some sort of support for this particular learner?
31:04 It is important for the assemblies also to begin to look for safe places that learners can all gather for some of these sessions,
31:12 if teachers are in place or community members are ready to support in terms of teaching and learning.
31:17 It's very important.
31:18 And if the Ministry of Education, CES, they are not yet visited a place to assess the impact and what they need to do,
31:26 for us, we feel it's very late. They need to quickly get there, assess the situation, the number of pupils that are impacted.
31:33 Of course, we put the number at over 97,000.
31:36 They have been affected so that they know what to do for these particular people in this trying time.
31:42 For you, Dr. Ante, what would be the road map? What would be the way forward?
31:49 I think that the first thing that we need to do is to admit that there needs to be a broader consultation in terms of how we will be able to strategize in situations like this.
32:07 You see, sometimes we keep working with relevant stakeholders.
32:12 But when you push and you don't get the needed feedback, that is the best that you can do because you don't have the power to implement some of the points that you would want to put across.
32:28 So we will continue to engage relevant stakeholders. We will continue to put these ideas across.
32:34 We will continue to share papers with them, and we hope that they will be able to pick the needed information from these documents that are constantly made available to them
32:45 and take the needed steps to ensure that we don't experience some of these things again.
32:52 I think that the way forward now is to immediately deploy all the needed resources to the places that are going through these challenges.
33:05 I think that is the immediate thing that needs to be done.
33:08 And NADMO has been there, so they would have an idea of how things are going in them.
33:13 The ministry should liaise with NADMO. NAD is on the ground.
33:17 The ministry should liaise with NAD and all the other stakeholders, have an idea, a broad idea of what is actually on the ground,
33:25 and then deploy the resources that they have to ensure that these kids get some kind of education.
33:31 I've said that they can deploy the vans, gather the kids around the van between 4 to 6 p.m. each day, and then they play certain lessons to them.
33:41 I think that would be an immediate solution to the challenge, whilst the MP and the others gather the volunteers to also engage these kids.
33:51 And also, they should deploy the relevant materials.
33:54 But for the long term, we need to have a plan.
33:57 We need to have a plan that kicks in as soon as there is an emergency situation.
34:01 That is what we need to do.
34:03 And it's not just putting these things on paper.
34:05 It should also be about implementing it to the latter.
34:09 And I hope that the minister would champion this.
34:12 This could be one of the biggest legacies that he would ever leave if he is able to champion this and ensure that we have a plan,
34:23 a policy of delivering education during an emergency situation like this, like Boko, and maybe in future occurrences.
34:33 Well, gentlemen, we'll have to draw the curtains on the conversation here.
34:36 But we're grateful that you took the time to join us and shared your wealth of knowledge with us.
34:40 You just had heard there Dr. Peter Pate-Anti.
34:45 He is with the Institute for Education Studies.
34:49 He joined the conversation.
34:51 We also have joined the conversation who has been with us, Divine Queries, Africa Education Watch.
35:01 Well, stay with us, because on the second leg of this conversation, we're also going to be exploring the rain, the heavy rain in different parts of the country.
35:10 Yesterday, even as we had these conversations, we were cautious.
35:14 We were in apprehension on the back of the fact that it was raining still in some parts of the Volta, Eastern and other regions.
35:25 Some showers here. Today, that has continued.
35:28 It may not technically affect so much the water levels in the Akosumbo Dam and the levels of spillage, but still a concern, especially for those in the affected areas.
35:40 Well, when we return, we're going to be looking at the rain and how they have been in terms of your community.
35:49 What has it been like? What was your community like?
35:52 We've been asking you to share footage, photos, whatever you have of what your community looks like when we return on the AM show.
36:00 We'll get into that. Do say.
36:01 [Music]