President John Dramani Mahama says the government will expand the free senior high school (SHS) policy for day students to cover boarding students in deprived communities from August this year.
“Thanks to the expansion in school infrastructure, improvement in textbook availability per pupil, free distribution of textbooks and uniforms nationwide, school enrolment has increased and the number of children at the basic level has also gone up.
“Our nation cannot develop at the pace we all desire if its citizens are not well educated. Education and a skilled human resource are the best assets any nation can have. It is better than any gold and silver resources,’’ he said.
The President was speaking at the 70th anniversary Speech and Prize-giving Day of the Aburi Girls’ Senior High School in Aburi on Saturday.
The event was on the theme: “Aburi Girls’ @70: Forging ahead for greater heights in educational excellence.’’
It was an all-yellow and green affair, as old students of the school, attired in the school cloth, and notable personalities, such as a former First Lady, Mrs Ernestina Naadu Mills, chiefs and the clergy graced the colourful ceremony.
More than 100 students and members of staff of the school who distinguished themselves in their endeavours were presented with various prizes.
The government launched its progressively free SHS programme for second-cycle students across the country, optimistic that the intervention would scale up the quality of the needed human capital.
In fulfilment of its promise, and in accordance with the directive in the 1992 Constitution of making secondary education progressively free, the government released some GH¢12.2 million to the Ministry of Education to pay fees for the first term of the 2015/2016 academic year.
According to the Ghana Education Service (GES), 313,301 day students in SHS were expected to benefit from the free SHS policy in the 2015/2016 academic year.
Teachers
Elaborating on efforts made by the government in the educational sector, President Mahama said it was not only focused on investing in infrastructure but had also made the training of teachers to spearhead the country’s education a priority.
He said the training of teachers was as important as the provision of infrastructure and teaching and learning materials.
“We have opened the doors for many more people to be trained as teachers, to retrain those in the service already and ensure further deployment of trained teachers across the country.
“The benefits of these huge investments are beginning to manifest themselves. With our mean year in schooling now standing at seven years, Ghana compares favourably with other African countries. Youth literacy, which used to be 55.8 per cent in 1998, recorded a huge jump to 80.5 per cent in the 2012/2013 academic year,” he said.
WAEC
The President praised the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) for its hard work and commitment which prevented what he described as “the shameful examination malpractice’’ during the recently held Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
“This year, I am proud to note that our BECE has passed with no incident recorded,’’ he said
Projects
The President lauded the school for its academic performance throughout the years, in spite of the strain on its facilities as a result of the increased number of students.
He indicated that the government had taken over a dormitory block started by the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of the school and would complete it in due course.
“In addition to the completion of the dormitory block, I shall direct the GETFund to build a 12-unit staff apartment block and also refurbish the administration block and another dormitory block,’’ he stated.
For her part, the Headmistress of the school, Ms Rosemond Bampo, said many buildings in the school were in dire need of renovation.
She, therefore, called on old students of the school and the PTA to assist the school to refurbish those structures.
By: Graphic Online
