Jirapa SHS unveils 25th anniversary

Jirapa Senior High School (SHS) has launched its 25th Anniversary Celebration with a call for infrastructural expansion to accommodate students and staff to improve academic excellence in the school.

Education stakeholders were therefore urged to deliberate ways of pursuing and enhancing academic standards in the School opened in 1994 with 126 students.

The 25th anniversary was launched on the theme: “25 years of strive to decent, dignifying and excellent academic laurels, the role of stakeholders”.

The School, established on January 1, 1994 as day school with student population of 126, comprising 75 males and 51 females, had only nine teachers at the time.

But today, Mr Primus Baro, Headmaster of Jirapa Senior High School, said enrollment has climbed to 1,280,covering 671females and 609 males and with total workforce of 132.

After 25 years of pursuing academic excellence, the school has produced a lot of notable people who are contributing immensely to national development in diverse ways.

Since, its inception in the 90s, it has consistently experienced growth over the years that spans to cover academic, enrollment, sports and other disciplines and activities.

Mr Baro acknowledged impressive growth of the school, but was unhappy it was equally faced with various challenges including shortage of vehicles, toilet facilities and accommodation for both students and staff.

The School’s Senior Prefect, Abdul Issifu Gafaaro, told the Ghana News Agency that due to inadequate infrastructure and other critical facilities, academic performance was being affected.

“We the boys are still staying at the old campus known as western campus which is far away from the main campus and we have been walking up and down and during classes hours you will see some of us sleeping in class because of tiredness,” he said.

Due to lack of accommodation, he said, the school’s science laboratory was turned into classroom and the dining hall was converted to examination hall for candidates writing the West African Senior School Certificate Examination.

He said due to excessive pressure on existing limited facilities including; the dining hall, students are compelled to dine under trees with its concomitant health hazards during examinations.

He called on stakeholders to assist the school address its mounting challenges to enhance excellent academic performance it was craving for.