Kofi Adams urges gov’t to upgrade Fr Dogli Memorial TVET Institute

The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Buem constituency in the Oti Region, Mr Kofi Iddie Adams is appealing for the adoption and upgrading of the Fr Dogli Memorial Vocational and Technical Institute located at New Ayoma in the Jasikan Diocese into a model institution as part of government’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) transformation agenda.

According to him, upgrading the school will greatly honour the memory of an illustrious son of the land- the Very Reverend Fr. Anastasius Odaye Kofi Dogli, who is the first indigenous Catholic priest of the Gold Coast now Ghana.

The Buem lawmaker who made the appeal on the floor of parliament in a statement to commemorate the centenary anniversary of the ordination of Fr Dogli as a priest on July 2, 1922 at Cape Coast said the late priest inspired many into the priesthood and formal education.

He has therefore appealed to the Minister for Education and the Administrator of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND) to help address the infrastructure needs of the school which was established by the Jasikan Diocese of the catholic church in 1997 in memory of the illustrious indigene.

“I wish to take this opportunity to appeal to the Minister of Education and the Administrator of GETFUND to support the infrastructural needs of this great school. It will not be out of place Mr. Speaker for government to adopt and upgrade this school as one of the programmed TVET’s institutions in the country in honor of this respected patriot,’’ Mr Adams stated.

In paying glowing tributes to the memory of Fr Dogli, Mr Kofi Adams said he (Fr Dogli) defied all odds to higher heights through God and encouraged students of the school to imbibe “ethics of hard work and commitment to God as championed by the great Fr Dogli of blessed memory.”

He described Fr Dogli as a "saint who braved the challenges of life and left a legacy of hope, and tenacity of purpose”.

Mr Adam stressed, “Mr. Speaker, you will agree with me that we are celebrating the life and ministry of a distinguished son and priest of this country from Buemland. He is our ancestor; and I dare to say also that he is our saint who braved the challenges of life and left us a legacy of courage, hope, and tenacity of purpose.”

The Buem MP expressed the hope that all citizens pursue the will of God in their quest to achieve their objectives.

"It is my hope that we can also trust in the Lord our God, walk in the light of his word, do his good will as we forge ahead to fulfill our individual and collective dreams. As a minister of the Gospel, Fr. Dogli fought a good fight of faith. He finished the race.

"We are confident that the Lord, the just judge, has granted him a seat among the angels and saints at the table of the heavenly banquet," he concluded.

Fr Dogli was born in Baglo-Buem in August 1888, ordained as a priest on July 2, 1922 and died on May 28, 1970 after 48years in priesthood.

The Jasikan Diocese under the leadership of Most Reverend Gabriel Akwasi Ababio Mante as Bishop is organizing a series of activities to commemorate the centenary memorial of his ordination as a priest.