Classrooms at Old Edubiase Methodist Basic School in the Adansi North District of the Ashanti Region have remained empty for days as pupils abandon their books for farms, markets and football fields following the ongoing nationwide strike by pre-tertiary education teachers.A visit to the community on Thursday, October 8, revealed a disturbing scene of school-going children engaged in all forms of activities except learning.While some pupils were seen accompanying their parents to their cocoa and food crop farms with cutlasses and baskets, others had turned into petty traders, hawking boiled eggs, sachet water and other items along the principal streets of Old Edubiase.Several others were seen loitering around the community, playing football and other games under trees during school hours.In separate interviews, some of the pupils disclosed that their teachers had directed them to stay at home until they are informed that the strike has been called off.“Our teachers told us to stay at home until we hear that the strike has been called off. That is why some of us are doing this,” a Primary Six pupil said.The situation is taking a toll on the pupils who expressed deep unhappiness about the industrial action.“We are not happy with the teachers’ strike because it is having a negative impact on our education. We have been at home for many days doing nothing,” another pupil lamented.The plight of final year students is even more dire. Some Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates who spoke to this reporter expressed frustration and anxiety as their mock examinations are fast approaching, yet no teaching and learning is ongoing, and no revision has been done.“We are not happy with the teachers’ strike because it has affected our education. Our mock exam is drawing near, and the teachers are on strike. We don’t know what will happen to us,” a BECE candidate, Shadrack Amuzu, said with visible worry.Parents in the community are equally frustrated, as the strike has disrupted both academic work and their daily economic activities.Some parents who were spotted heading to their farms with their children said they had no choice but to send the children to the farm to assist them, while others are left at home unattended.Madam Yaa Nsia, a mother of three whose children are pupils of the school, said the situation has become unbearable.According to her, the strike has forced parents to turn their children into farmhands, while others are just roaming around the community without any supervision.“The strike has forced us to send our children to the farm. Some of the children are just roaming around without going to school because of the strike. This is not good for their future,” she said.She noted that the prolonged closure of schools could expose the children to social vices, teenage pregnancy and child labour.The affected pupils and parents have therefore made a passionate appeal to government and the leadership of the teacher unions to as a matter of urgency, resolve the impasse for academic work to resume.They called on government to listen to the concerns of teachers and address their conditions of service to enable them to return to the classroom.“We are begging the government to listen to our teachers and resolve the issue for them to call off the strike. We want to go back to school,” the pupils appealed.BackgroundTeachers across the country declared a nationwide strike last week over what they describe as the government’s failure to address their conditions of service, including deprived area allowance, promotion issues, and other welfare concerns.The strike has led to a total shutdown of basic schools, with Senior High School also recording low attendance as some parents keep their children at home.The Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ministry of Education have held several meetings with the teacher unions – Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) – but a breakthrough is yet to be achieved.Meanwhile, residents of Old Edubiase are calling for swift intervention by the Adansi North District Directorate of Education, traditional authorities and government to ensure pupils return to the classroom before irreparable damage is done to the academic calendar.