AHISCO Centenary launch: Dr Bawumia hails impact of free SHS

• Dr Mahamud Bawumia interracting with a student of Accra High School

The Vice President Dr Mahamud Bawumia has reiterated government’s commitment to deliver on the promise of Free Senior High School which, he said, “continues to record high enrolment,” especially of girls.

He said that the policy had brought “great relief to parents” and was helping to ensure gender parity between boys and girls in secondary schools across the country.

Speaking at the launch of the centenary celebrations of Accra High School (AHISCO) last Saturday in Accra, he called on citizens to support various government initiatives and projects meant to ensure “economic transformation,” indicating that the New Patriotic Party administration was “focused on building a new economy in spite of challenges.”

Reflecting on the theme of the anniversary, “The state of education, The school and the future,” Dr Bawumia said the centenary celebrations should be “a time to open a new chapter.”

He, therefore, urged the board, management, staff and old students to help “take the school to the next level,” adding that government would “forever remain a great partner of AHISCO in any pursuit.”

Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister of Education, in his address, also maintained that the educational system was on the “right track in spite of challenges, and that the Free SHS policy was not a political gimmick.”

“Free SHS is not an end in itself; it is a means to the total transformation of our nation, Ghana. That is why those of use given the opportunity by the President to handle the education sector approach our work with passion,” he said.

He praised the school for the progress it had made over the years and pledged his support to the administration towards improving the infrastructure of the school.

“Even in the midst of challenges, we do not lose focus of the fact that we need to make Junior High Schools part of the secondary education system and help prepare students adequately for higher education,” he said.

Ms Evlyn Nabia, the Headmistress of AHISCO, also appealed to the government to provide the needed facilities to ensure “smooth take off” of the boarding status granted the school recently.

Acknowledging founding fathers and stakeholders for their support, she said the school, among other things, “needed general renovation of all structures, provision of more staff accommodation and the completion of a 12-unit classroom block which was started in 2019.”

She noted that the school had lost some of its facilities to sister institutions hence the need to upgrade existing structures and provide new ones, befitting an institution which had been made significant impact for the past decades.

The Centenary would begin in November, 2022, with a school fun fair and homecoming for old students and would be climaxed on November 19, 2023. Activities lined up include carol service, centenary lectures, workshop, revival, fundraising, sports, health walk, and candle light procession.

By Ernest Nutsugah