Ebenezer Senior High chalks 70

It takes one man with a vision to change the lives of a whole generation and one such person is the late Robert Teiko Aryee, founder of the Ebenezer Secondary School in Accra, which is now 70 years old.

For him establishing a school was neither for profit nor fame but to see that hundreds of young children in deprived areas in Accra had access to education, which was completely missing in the populous Ga communities.

The late Aryee who died at the age of 78 on October 14, 1980 received his education by sheer luck and, therefore had an ambition to help his people have access to education, hence his decision to establish the Ebenezer Secondary School in January 1941.

From a small room at the Timber Market in Accra, the late Aryee started operating the institution with four pupils.

Soon, his class sizes began to increase and it became necessary to look for a bigger place. One was found at Korle-Gonno but another challenge was that not all the pupils could follow him that far, as it was not easy to come by transportation at that time.

Recounting the incidents that led to the naming of the school as Ebenezer, one of the 10 children of the late Aryee, Mr Samuel Aryee, told the Daily Graphic that his father had the long cherished dream of establishing a school after working as a pupil teacher at the Accra Bishop Boys’ School, the English Church School at Larteh, Akwapim, the Methodist School, also at Larteh and as a headmaster of the Krobo Odumasi English Church School in 1935.

His dedication and sense of duty led to the Chief of Manya Krobo, Nene Azu Mate-Kole, to ask him to help establish a Presbyterian Secondary School at Odumase in 1938, which is now the Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School, PRESEC, Legon.

He explained that whiles at the Presbyterian Secondary School at Odumase, his late father’s room was engulfed in flames during which he lost everything.

“Everything burnt including his Holy Bible. But the only page that survived was a page with the prominent word ‘Ebenezer’ staring him in the face,” Mr Aryee recounted.

By this incident the late Aryee decided to return to Accra to establish a school with the name Ebenezer.

The school started with a primary school section but was expanded to include a middle and a secondary school when a larger piece of land was secured at Mamprobi in Accra.

As fate would have it, the late Aryee got dedicated teachers some of whom included Messrs Teye and Addy who helped shape the foundation of the school.

Unfortunately, however, the late Aryee began experiencing challenges with his sight and lost it in 1955 but even in that state, records show that he taught mathematics until he was very old.

“With his failing site, the late Aryee agreed for the school to be assisted by the government in 1956 and retired prematurely and he was replaced by Mr C.E.A. Mattison, the first government-appointed headmaster.

Having laid the foundation for what he set out to achieve, the founder of the Ebenezer Secondary School passed on October 14, 1980.

He is dead but the school is very much alive, having a student population of 1,586 made up of 904 boys and 682 girls, 69 staff members and 33 non-teaching staff.

“It is gratifying to note that hundreds of the products of the school have gained admission to tertiary institutions and other places of higher learning, both in and outside this country,” the Headmistress of the school, Mrs Elizabeth Addo, stated.

Mrs Addo conceded that although the school had chalked up a number of successes, “we still have a lot more potential educationists, doctors, lawyers, politicians, to unlock”, she stated, adding that it was the responsibility of the school, like other training centres, to provide industry-focused human resource who would provide service to turn the nation’s economy around.

She commended the founder and the school’s leadership for the high standards, stating that the school had remained a school of choice during the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

Even though the general infrastructure situation has improved with the construction of a Home Economics Department, a dormitory and an 18-unit classroom block by the Ghana Education Service (GES), Ebenezer Secondary School still has some challenges which require immediate attention to address.

Among these challenges, according to Mrs Addo, include the poor lighting of the school, especially with regard to the street lighting along the roads to ensure security at night.

“Staff accommodation is also a major challenge to us for which we need immediate assistance,” she stated.

Students of the Visual Arts Department also needed a block where they could effectively and comfortably work as they were currently painting under trees, Mrs Addo stated, and also appealed to the GES to help it reconstruct its broken fence to check miscreants entering the school who posed security risk.

Despite the challenges, Mrs Addo stated that the school was poised to provide the best teaching as its contribution to society and appealed to students to learn hard and stay away from trouble.