Mr Emmanuel K.A. Keteku, Volta Regional Director of Education, has appealed to government to prevail on the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) and its contractors to complete unfinished projects at the Abutia Senior High Technical School.
He made the appeal at the Second Speech and Prize-Giving and Home Coming day of the School under the theme,” Promoting Quality Education: Challenges of A Less-Endowed School.”
The projects include a girls dormitory awarded to Excons Limited in 2003 and billed to be completed in 2004, a boys dormitory awarded to Messrs Gatrobson in 2007 to be completed in 2008, dining and assembly hall complex to accommodate 1,500 students awarded to Wabelya Company in 2011 to be completed a year later.
The school also lacks classrooms, administration block and teachers common room.
The school has two long blocks which serve as classrooms, dining hall and store, with the General Office partitioned into the Headmaster’s, Accounts, and Bursar’s offices.
The Headmaster’s bungalow is the only decent accommodation at the School. None of the teachers stays on campus with many of them said to live outside the community for lack of accommodation.
The shades of trees serve as Staff Common room.
“I would like all of us to continue to play instrumental roles in the building of this institution, so that together we can change it into grade one school,” Mr Keteku said.
“On a dead tree there are no monkeys. To kiss a child is to kiss the mother,” he said.
Mr Keteku appealed to the students to take the conditions at the school and the high profile personalities from Abutia as a challenge and motivation to excel.
“I can assure you that you are capable of becoming medical doctors, engineers, lawyers, lecturers, teachers, accountants and other professionals you desire,” he said.
“I therefore want to use this platform to encourage the current generation of students to make good and judicious use of opportunities provided for you to learn hard in order to pass your exams with distinction.”
Mr Keteku advised the students to be guided by the admonishment of Aristotle the philosopher, thus, “We are what we do repeatedly and excellence is not an act, but habit.”
He advised the students to note that: “The horse can take you to the battle but cannot fight for you.”
In his report, Mr A.Y. Fiashide, the Headmaster of the School, said despite its challenges, the School “performed marvelously in the last two West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations and sporting activities.”
He said out of 66 candidates presented in 2011, 39 of them passed in seven subjects, 23 in six subjects and three in five subjects without any failures.
In 2012, out of 131 candidates presented, 46 had eight passes, 77 had seven passes, five had six passes, two had three passes and one had 1 pass with no failures.
He said the school produced the second best French teacher in the National Best Teacher Award in the person of Mr Janvier Agbotome.
Mr Fiashide said students posted to the school under the Computerised School Selection and Placement (CSSP) programme refused to report to school because of poor infrastructure.
He commended the Parent/Teacher Association of the School and old students for helping to improve conditions in the school.
Prizes were awarded to students who excelled in their classes and to some teaching and non-teaching staff for their dedication to the service of the school.
The school launched an appeal for 8,000 Ghana cedis towards putting up a staff common room.
