Make best out of facilities - Students told

Kpando, Nov 30, GNA - The Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Paapa Owusu Ankoma, on Saturday urged students to make the best out of the facilities and opportunities available to develop their minds, crave for knowledge and to explore new horizons.

He was addressing a durbar of old and current students and staff of the Kpando Secondary School at Kpando, to climax the Golden Jubilee of the school under the theme, "Quality Education in the 21st Century: Bridging the Gap". "I say, the future is yours and there is no better way to get prepared for this future than to arm yourselves with education that opens the mind and encourages a spirit of adventure," he said.

Papaa Ankoma said it was important that school authorities ensured a good combination of moral and religious education as an anchor in the modern world of conflicting attractions and the training that treats the human body "with the deference that it deserves".

He said inadequate infrastructure notwithstanding, Kpando Secondary School had over the years maintained a steady stream of excellent academic and high standards of discipline.

Papaa Ankoma commended the pioneers for their faith, which had nurtured the school through several years of deprivation to its present stature despite inadequate infrastructure and facilities.

He said students of today would be horrified at having to endure those deprived and trying situations, teachers to accept them as challenges and parents to have the faith to send their children to the school. Papaa Ankoma said the government's programme to upgrade at least one Senior Secondary School in each district reflected the government's determination to improve facilities.

The Volta Regional Minister, Mr Kwasi Owusu-Yeboa, advised them to be disciplined because many brilliant students had fallen by the way in their academic pursuits because they were not disciplined. He said they had a moral obligation to justify the investments their parents and government were making towards their education under very trying circumstances.

Mr Owusu-Yeboa urged the old students to be sources of inspiration to staff and students to strive to chalk greater laurels and presented 10 million cedis on behalf of President Kufuor to the School.

The Headmaster, Mr Geoffrey Bissi, said the authorities would expand opportunities for pupils from the rural communities in the district to have Senior Secondary education and to qualify to pursue tertiary education in fulfilment of the motto of the school, "Light and Truth".

He said the academic performance of the school had improved year after year for the past 10 years, adding, the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE) results had not fallen below 94 percent.

The school scored 99.7 percent pass in the 2002 SSSCE and 98 percent in the just-released SSSCE, in which a female and a male student have posted the best aggregates of nine respectively, giving credence to the fact that girls are as capable as boys when given the chance.

Mr Bissi said the School had also been outstanding in extra-curriculum activities both in the Volta Region and the country. He said out of the current student population of 987, 504 are girls and 483 boys and commended the Parent Teacher Association, Old Students and the Kpando District Assembly for helping to solve some of the infrastructure problems.

The Head Master appealed to the Education Authorities for support in addressing the problems and said, "More students could gain admission into the school if we could provide additional classroom blocks and facilities".

Mr Kofi Bansah, National President of the of the Old Students Association, said the provision of infrastructure in deprived schools would enhance education and help in bridging the gap between the more endowed institutions.

Mr Justice Jones Dotse, Appeal Court Judge and an old student was the Chairman for the function attended by Miss Akua Sena Dansua, MP for North-Dayi who promised to provide 50-classroom furniture for the school.

The guests were entertained with cultural and gymnastic display.