Awe SHS to obtain boarding status

Navrongo, May 28, GNA – Mr Mark Owen Woyongo, the Upper East Regional Minister, has assured teachers and students of the Awe Senior High and Technical School of government's commitment to making it a boarding school to enhance its development.

He said the boarding status of every school went with major infrastructure to promote quality teaching and learning and that would be undertaken soon.

Mr Woyongo said this at the 25th anniversary and 7th speech and price giving day of the Awe Senior High School at Navrongo.

The celebration was on the theme “Bridging the gap between well endowed senior high schools and the less endowed schools in academia”.

The Minister said the government was determined to make the development of education the cornerstone of its development agenda.

He said it was in fulfillment of this that dormitories, classrooms, dining halls, assembly halls and libraries had been provided in educational institutions especially second cycle and tertiary institutions throughout the region.

He appealed to stakeholders in education such as the Parent/Teacher Associations, School Management Boards and Old Students' Associations to compliment government's efforts in providing education infrastructure.

Mr Woyongo reminded the students of the need to be disciplined and be good and useful citizens in society.

”You can assume responsible positions if you are humble, hardworking, dedicated and respectful to your tutors and other people in authority,” he said.

He cautioned the students not to allow themselves to be misused by political interest groups in engaging in violent acts before, during and after this year's election.

The Headmaster of the school, Mr Paul Agoriba Achana, said the school, complimenting efforts of the government, had on its own built a home economics block, an ICT centre and a library.

He commended the Ghana Cement Foundation, Amaland and Aberi-nya Construction Company, Ghana Outlook, a non-governmental organization based in the Volta Region, the Member of Parliament for Navrongo Central and others for their enormous contributions towards the development of the school in recent times.

He said the school was faced with numerous challenges ranging from the lack of staff and students' accommodation, inadequate teaching and learning materials amongst others that had contributed to the number of failures in the examinations and appealed to the government for assistance.

Mr Kofi Addah, Member of Parliament for Navrongo Central, said in recognition of the contribution of the late Colonel Roger Felli, Mr Joe Issahka, former head of the Civil Service and Mr Lawrence Atingdui in the development of the school and the nation, he would institute three scholarship schemes to start next academic year for students from deprived communities to contribute to national development.

He pledged GH¢4,000 for the construction of a mechanized water system and GH¢1,000 towards the school's anniversary celebration.

Mr Eric Niamese, a Lecturer at the University of Development Studies, said deprived schools, when given the necessary support and assistance could become well endowed with time.

Mr Niamese who is the president of the Old Students Association, said the gap between well endowed schools and deprived ones might not be infrastructural but knowledge based, adding that it was a shared responsibility among all the major stakeholders and managers in the education sector.

GNA