At exactly the time pupils should be concentrating most in class, many are instead battling heat, sweat and exhaustion.
Inside the Basic Six classroom at Alajo 1 Basic School in Accra, exercise books are no longer being used only for writing. Some pupils wave them repeatedly across their faces, trying to cool down as temperatures rise through the late morning.
Others stop midway through lessons to drink water or rest their heads briefly before attempting to refocus.
For 11-year-old Farhana Surag, the heat has become part of everyday learning.
“When we are in class and the teacher is teaching, we feel hot. You will see pupils fanning themselves because there is heat in the classroom,” she said.
The classroom has a fan mounted overhead. But pupils say it often does little to ease the discomfort.
“We have a fan in the classroom, but it is not helping. Sometimes it blows hot air, so we put it off,” Farana explained.
Her frustration reflects a growing concern among researchers and educators about the impact of extreme heat on learning conditions in Ghanaian schools.
Struggling to concentrate
As temperatures rise towards midday, the classroom becomes increasingly uncomfortable.
The combination of heat, humidity and poor ventilation leaves many pupils struggling to focus on lessons.
“Sometimes I understand what the teacher is teaching… and sometimes I don’t. When there is heat in the classroom, I sometimes find it difficult to concentrate,” Farana said.
Nearby, another pupil, Elizabeth Francis, leans back in her chair, fanning herself with a textbook after abandoning her writing midway through class.
“I come to school to learn, but sometimes the heat in the classroom makes it difficult,” Elizabeth said.
“When the teacher is teaching, I feel uncomfortable, and I cannot concentrate well, so there are times I do not understand the lesson.”
She says even simple adjustments are difficult because pupils have fixed seating arrangements.
“The fan in the class does not reach where I sit, and because we have fixed seating positions, I cannot move closer to it,” she added.
According to the pupils, the problem becomes worse during periods of intense sunshine when heat absorbed by the roof spreads into the classroom.
“The heat is worse when the sun is very strong. It makes the roofing hot, and that heat spreads into the classroom through the windows,” Elizabeth explained.
“I think we need better fans so that air can reach every part of the classroom. That would help us stay comfortable and concentrate better.”
“Some pupils miss key points”
Teachers say the effects are becoming more noticeable in lessons.
Heartwill Awudi, a teacher at the school, says the heat affects both teaching and learning outcomes.
“When it is too hot, the students don’t concentrate. By the time you finish teaching, some of them have missed key points,” she said.
“Sometimes it is unbearable… for both teachers and students.”
According to her, the challenge goes beyond rising temperatures alone. The physical design of many classrooms worsens the situation.
Many classrooms rely on small breeze block openings for ventilation, but teachers say airflow remains poor. Combined with metal roofing sheets and the absence of ceilings in some classrooms, heat becomes trapped indoors.
“Many of the classrooms do not have ceiling fans, and ventilation is poor. The roofing also contributes to the heat,” Madam Awudi added.
Researchers tracking classroom temperatures
Beyond what teachers and pupils are experiencing physically, researchers are now collecting scientific data to better understand the scale of the problem.
Inside the classroom, a monitoring device quietly records temperature and humidity levels every ten minutes.
The equipment forms part of a research project by the Geography Department of the University of Ghana examining how extreme heat affects learning environments.
Betty Avanu Davidson, a research assistant involved in the project, says the goal is to scientifically validate what pupils and teachers are reporting.
“These devices record temperature, relative humidity, and dew point. It helps us understand exactly what conditions the students are experiencing,” she explained.
“Students can tell you they feel hot, but we also need scientific data to support that. This helps us validate what they are experiencing.”
Researchers say temperatures inside classrooms at certain times of the day reach between 30 and 31 degrees Celsius, with humidity making conditions feel even more uncomfortable.
Urban heat worsening classroom conditions
Climate researcher and Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Ghana, Prof Ebenezer Amankwaa, says the issue is part of a broader climate challenge affecting urban areas.
“Temperatures in many schools are rising, and this is affecting how children learn and how they perform,” he said.
Researchers point to the “urban heat island effect,” where buildings, roads and roofing materials absorb and retain heat, causing temperatures in cities to rise above surrounding areas.
“These conditions increase heat levels in classrooms, especially where ventilation is poor, and there is little tree cover,” Prof Amankwaa explained.
According to him, prolonged exposure to excessive heat can also create health complications for children.
“Children experience headaches, heat rashes, and in some cases, it can affect their cognitive function.”
He warns that declining concentration in classrooms could eventually affect academic outcomes nationwide.
“It leads to loss of concentration, and that has direct implications for learning outcomes.”
A growing climate and development concern
The situation at Alajo 1 Basic School reflects a challenge increasingly being observed across Ghana.
As climate change drives rising temperatures, many schools, especially those with poor infrastructure, are becoming more difficult environments for learning.
Ghana’s national climate adaptation plans already warn that delays in responding to climate risks could undermine development and disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, including children.
For pupils like Farana, the concern is personal.
“Sometimes when madam gives classwork, some pupils get it wrong because they did not understand what she taught,” she said.
Despite the difficult conditions, she still holds tightly to her ambitions.
“I want to be a journalist in the future because I want to talk about things happening in the country… but I am afraid the condition in the classroom may affect my performance.”
As lessons continue in overheated classrooms across the country, researchers warn that the effects of climate change are no longer distant projections.
For many pupils, they are already part of everyday school life.
This Climate Evidence report is brought to you by JoyNews in partnership with CDKN Ghana, University of Ghana Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Studies, Legon with funding from CLARE R4I Opportunities Fund.
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