TARSCO @60: TARSPA to build ultra-modern complex to serve as dining hall and kitchen for school

The national launch of the 60th-anniversary celebration of Tarkwa Senior High School (TARSCO) has been held in Accra on Wednesday, August 31.

At the event organised at the Marriot Hotel, the TARSCO Past Students Association (TARSPA) announced that they have resolved to build a state-of-the-art dining hall as a legacy project to be gifted to the school.

Delivering a speech at the event, TARSPA President Mrs. Hannah Owusu-Koranteng stressed that the time has come for old students who benefited from TARSCO to define a new vision and status for the school.

In this vein, she said the construction of an ultramodern complex that will serve as a dining hall and kitchen for the school is in order.

“Nana Chairperson, permit me to use the occasion to state that the past students prioritise academic excellence and wellbeing of students above everything and the anniversary is to position Tarkwa Senior High School for that purpose.

“It is with this in mind that TARSPA is looking at the welfare of students as a first step to academic excellence. The aim of settling on the construction of a state-of-the-art building complex to serve as a dining and catering facility project sets the pace for the overall development of the quality of life for students so that they can exhibit their capabilities inherent in them,” TARSPA president Mrs. Hannah Owusu-Koranteng said in her address.

She further charged old students to show commitment to pushing the dream of the Founders of TARSCO to greater heights.

“In commemorating our 60th Anniversary, we need to make sacrifices to raise TARSCO to the level of an ultra-modern school that promotes academic and moral excellence," the TARSPA President indicated.

Delivering the keynote address at the TARSCO @60 anniversary national launch, Deputy Minister of Education, Mrs. Gifty Twum-Ampofo said it was an honour for her, especially as an old student of the school.

She admonished TARSPA members to commit to helping the school with its needs to elevate its image.

“For the school that is 60 years, it’s on retirement. So it’s incumbent on the old students as the children of the school to support our parents who are on retirement. On this, I’m calling on all students of Tarkwa Senior High to contribute their bit because the school is 60 years and in reality, if it was a human being it would be on retirement,” Mrs. Gifty Twum-Ampofo remarked.

She further advised continuing students of Tarkwa Senior High School to take their education seriously and see teachers as role models.

“I’m a proud past student of the school. I’m using this opportunity to urge students to use teachers as their role models, not social media,” the Deputy Education Minister said while adding, “I’m also admonishing teachers to be good role models.”

On his part, the headmaster of Tarkwa Senior High School, Mr. George Oduro underscored the importance of the 60th-anniversary celebration of the school, indicating that it is a good time to take stock of achievements as well as successes and look at ways to confront the challenges standing in the way of the pursuit of academic excellence.

He noted that together with the help of TARSPA, TARSCO will be able to address its challenges.

"We look forward to having all our challenges in the school addressed in terms of infrastructure, in terms of the floods that are perennial and have been worrying us over the years, and also the legacy project which the past students have decided to undertake which is the dining hall facility of our school. We look forward to all these coming to fruition,” headmaster George Oduro told journalists on the sidelines of the anniversary launch.

The 60^th Anniversary celebration of Tarkwa Senior High School is scheduled as a week-long event.

It will start on November 21 and end on the 27 th .

The anniversary launch was attended by dignitaries including the Paramount Chief of WASSA Amenfi Traditional Area, Tetrete Okuamoa Sekyim, former New Patriotic Party chairman, Peter Mac Manu, as well as Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, new Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) president, a former TARSCO Student.

The building of the state-of-the-art complex by TARSPA which will be in staggering phases is scheduled to commence immediately after the celebration of the 60^th Anniversary in November.

It is expected that each year group and branch will finance a section of the project.

In addition to this flagship 6t0th anniversary celebration project, the planning committee is inviting individuals and year groups to support the actual programme of the anniversary which includes awards, improvement of the environment of the school, and cost of protocol, among others.

The state-of-the-art complex by TARSCO Past Students Association when completed will boast of a dining hall with the capacity to take 2,000 students.

This will ensure that the current system where students dine in batches will be a thing of the past.

The complex will also have a spacious bakery room, a pantry, as well as a dishwashing area.