Halt the encroachment on AMASS lands

Kumasi, Feb. 18, GNA - The T.I. Ahmadiyya Senior High School (SHS) has marked its 63rd anniversary with an appeal to all stakeholders to act together to stop the massive encroachment on the school's lands.

Professor Haruna Yakubu, Vice-Chancellor of the University for Development Studies and an Old Student, described as worrying the take-over of the school's idle lands by encroachers.

He said given the growing student population, the need for infrastructural expansion had become exigent and that was why the school administration should be given every necessary support to safeguard the remaining 'un-encroached land'.

The school's prime location has made it become attractive to encroachers.  

Established on January 30, 1950 with just 25 students, it now has a total of 3,107 students.

The anniversary was held under the theme 'Real AMASS at 63: Achievements and Challenges'.

Prof Yakubu underlined the need to explore non-traditional sources of funding to augment what the school had been getting from the government, saying this was necessary if the school was to sustain its tradition of academic excellence.

He said the Alumni of the school making it big in different professional capacities both locally and abroad, was an untapped source of funds and material assistance that must be utilized.

'The good news is that since the reservoir has been under-tapped, it is never too late to keep tapping from the reservoir of Alumni resources.'

To do this, he recommended the setting up of a data base of AMASS Alumni across the generations and the designation of someone at the headmaster's office to periodically update it.

He also spoke of the need for a re-launch of the Old Students Association and invited the old boys and girls to rally around the school and to contribute towards tackling its infrastructural deficit.

Prof Yakubu used the occasion to caution the staff and students not to undermine the culture of library usage in their quest to improve students' access to Information Technology.

 Students, he said, should be encouraged to use the school library in order to build up a research ethic that would stimulate their intellectual curiosity beyond the confines of the classroom.

'Feeding one's mind voraciously with information through reading brings great enlightenment, sparks creativity and foments organic academic growth', he added.

The Headmaster of the school, Mr Yakubu A.B. Abubakar, pledged the resolve of the management to work hard to maintain the discipline and unblemished record of not having witnessed any violent student unrest in its 63 years existence.

He said he was proud of the excellent performance of the school both academically and in the field of sports.

He appealed to the government to assist complete a number of projects in the school, including a dining hall, work on which started about 30 years ago, an assembly hall, boys' and girls' dormitories and a science block.

They said they also needed a more spacious library to replace the existing one, which could barely accommodate 60 students at a time.

The Ameer and Missionary in-charge of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission, Ghana, Maulvi Dr. Wahab Adam, advised the teachers and students to do everything to uphold the school's enviable image.

He paid glowing tribute to all those who in diverse ways helped to establish the school, singling out the late Asantehene, Otumfuo Sir Osei Agyemang Prempeh II, for giving out the land and a cash donation of £100.00 in those days.

The acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammed A. Alhassan, and Prof Yakubu, alongside five other old students of the school were honoured with Citations.

GNA