Ho, Feb. 28, GNA - Mrs Theresa Kufuor, the First Lady, on Saturday lamented that demonstrations have gained popularity among students and as such acts of indiscipline have been erroneously equated with heroism. The First Lady noted that "demonstrations have become issues of heroism for students with the accompanied destruction of property and assault". Mrs Kufuor made the observations when she addressed the 50th Anniversary celebration of Our Lady of Apostles (OLA) Secondary School in Ho, under the theme," 50 years of Holistic Girls Education-Challenges for the Future".
She said this situation mirrors the general level of indiscipline in the country, which required a re-orientation of the entire citizenry regarding acceptable norms of behaviour and achievement.
Mrs Kufuor said while 20 years ago it was unimaginable to hear reports of students engaged in armed robbery, car hijacking and bank robbery, "today we witness all these in our society".
She said in the light of the general indiscipline among students, It was gratifying that OLA Secondary School was able to give its students holistic education for a life of self-sufficiency, trust-worthiness and usefulness to society.
"The reciprocity of this gesture is the accomplishment of hard work by the students to earn the school its enviable reputation", Mrs Kufuor said.
She lauded the School's recent achievement in placing 22nd among the 502 Senior Secondary Schools (SSS), which took part in last year's SSS Certificate Examination thus becoming the best performing school in the Volta Region.
Mrs Kufuor said gone were the days when women and girls were relegated to the background, as women "take advantage of opportunities offered them through education to rub shoulders with male counterparts in administration, politics, law, medicine and aviation...".
She reminded Ghanaians especially, the youth about the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS and said every body was vulnerable to the disease. Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Education Youth and Sports who was the guest speaker asked all managers of schools to help curb drunkenness among teachers.
He also condemned the continuing collection of unapproved fees in some schools and pledged that his ministry would ensure that parents were not overburdened.
Mr Baah-Wiredu said the recent publication of the league table of performance at the SSCE by the Ghana Education Service (GES) was meant to be a wake-up call for schools.
He said it is expected that it would stimulate competition, as already, students themselves in some schools have initiated moves to perform better in the coming years.
The Minister said government regarded education as the "greatest social equaliser in the world" and would do everything to increase access, improve standards and provide more ICT facilities for schools. He announced that as a 50th anniversary gift, government would assist in completing the assembly hall block complex, initially estimated at one billion cedis, which was started by the school's PTA.
Mr Baah-Wiredu said government was undertaking the upgrading of 32 SSS at a cost of 500 billion cedis out of which four schools in the Volta Region, Kadjebi-Asato, Krachi, Adidome and Bueman SSS would benefit. He appealed to the past, present and future teachers of the school to fight the odds and continue to give off their best both in moral lives so that the millennium products of the school "should not live only in the past glory of their alma-mater".
OLA secondary school, which was the brainchild of Bishop Anthony Konings then in-charge of the Keta Diocese of the Catholic Church, was founded at Keta in 1954 at Keta with 35 students and later re-located in Ho.
The school, which has the motto, Vitam Praesta Puram or "Grant Us a Pure Life: A Life Without Reproach" had for the better part of its existence been managed by Our Lady of Apostles (OLA) Sisters.
Mrs Philomena Afeti, Headmistress of the School said the educational institution now had 965 students, 810 borders and 155 day students with a teaching staff of 40 and non-teaching staff of 56.
Mrs Afeti who is the first laity Headmistress, commended the PTA for putting up a canteen and initiating other projects.
She also praised the Past Old Girls Association (POGA) within and outside Ghana for initiating projects including the building of an administration block.
Mrs Afeti said a major problem of the school was staff accommodation as a result of which less than half of the teachers and two non-teaching staff resided on campus.
She appealed to individuals organisations and government to help construction a Headmistress' bungalow build a fence around the school to avoid encroachment.
Mr Justice Jones Dotse, Board Chairman complained that recent government statements of PTA dues in some cases would work against the development of schools.
Mr Dotse who is an Appeal Court Judge therefore, appealed to government to review its decision on the levies since the decisions to impose them were taken at well attended meetings of the PTAs.
Togbe Afede XIV, Paramount Chief of the Asogli Traditional Area said the school was a fitting tribute to the community and the people of the region and urged both students and teachers to collaborate efforts to facilitate academic work.
Mrs Doris Adadevor-Ablo, President of POGA enjoined the students and teachers to work hard to improve the school.
Dr Audrey Gadzekpo, a Lecturer at the School of Communications at the University of Ghana, Legon, said education was worthy investment and praised the founding fathers of the school for their foresight. The ceremony, which was attended, by a large number of old students was heralded by the inspection of a guard of honour by 38 members of the Navy Cadet Corp of the School.
Mrs Kufour who donated 20 million cedis to the school, earlier unveiled an anniversary monument and a statue of the first Headmistress of the School, Sister Rev Sister Theodorus Fahy.
Awards were giving to deserving students, teachers, non-teaching staff and POGA, PTA, Board members, formers staff of the school and some dignitaries.
