Former Afram Plains District Director of Education commends KNUST

Donkorkrom (E/R), June 8, GNA - A former District Director of Education in the Afram Plains, Mr Nicholas Gaikpa, has commended the leadership of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) for being a source of inspiration to students from outlandish and deprived secondary schools.

He said the policy by KNUST to reserve a quota of its undergraduate admissions to students from deprived schools had been a source of encouragement to such students who now see an opening to achieve higher education at a top-notch school.

Mr Gaikpa told the Ghana New Agency in an interview at Donkorkrom in the Afram Plains on Wednesday that the consideration being given by KNUST to students from deprived schools should serve as a "great incentive to both students and teachers of such schools to work harder for many students to be enrolled into the university." He spoke to the GNA after witnessing the presentation of a 200 million-cedi bus by the Parent/Teacher Association of the Donkorkrom Agriculture Secondary School (DASS) to the school. Mr Gaikpa said considering the frustration, lack of resources and poor facilities at such schools as compared to their counterparts in urban and semi-urban centres, it was only an intervention like the one being pursued by KNUST that could help minimally narrow the gap between such deprived schools and the endowed ones.

The KNUST policy for deprived schools was the centre piece of Professor Kwasi Andam's leadership when he was Vice-Chancellor of the university for which he received national acclaim and it remains one of the flagship policies of the university.

DASS would be celebrating on Saturday the passing out of one such student who would be presented with his certificate at KNUST's congregation scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

Mr Gaikpa, who is also a former Assistant Headmaster of DASS, wants the government to consider making the KNUST policy a national one so as to benefit more children from poor financial background and depressed communities.