Nsein (W/R), Nov 26,
GNA – Nsein Senior High School in the Nzema-East Municipality has unveiled a
number of activities to mark its diamond jubilee celebration planned to
kick-start next year.
The occasion, which
coincided with the 8th Memorial Lectures of the Late Headmaster, Very Reverend
Timothy Ansah, showcased successes and challenges of the school.
The theme for the
8th anniversary celebration is: “Discipline and academic excellence as
tools for national development: The role of stakeholders”.
Launching the 60th
anniversary at the school premise, the Member of Parliament (MP) for
Evaloe-Adjomoro Gwira, Mrs. Catherine A. Afeku, who is also an old girl of the
school, lauded past and present school authorities carving a niche to put the
institution on a high pedestal.
According to her,
most products of the school formed the cream of the country’s human resource
base and torch bearers who are now contributing to national development.
She paid tribute to
Rev. Timothy Ansah for inculcating discipline and hard work into students at
the time, a feat which culminated in academic excellence, thereby giving the
school an enviable record.
She challenged
current students to emulate the shining examples of their predecessors to keep
the banner of the school aloft.
Mrs. Afeku entreated
stakeholders to focus on issues such as supervision of teaching and learning,
teacher absenteeism and extra-curricula activities among other academic
interventions to make the school one of choice.
Touching on the
school’s challenges, the MP who is also a Minister of State at the Presidency,
said the government would expand infrastructure at the school.
“Nsein will not
be left out of the US$1.5 six-unit classroom block fund allocation to schools
especially with the intake of more students due to the free SHS programme,” she
added.
She assured the
school of her resolve to reconnect electricity to the girls’ dormitory, make
adequate space for their dining hall, provide a bus to the school and put
access roads on campus in good shape before the 60th anniversary celebration
jumpstarts.
The Headmaster of
the school, Mr. John Mochia, said the school obtained 89.2 percent pass in the
last WASSCE out of which 68.46 qualified for admission to tertiary
institutions.
The best performing
male student scooped 6A1s and 2Bs, while his female counterpart also scooped
6A1s, B and C.
In this era of free
Senior High School education, she said, the “Timothy Ansah Heritage”
continued to award bursaries to some of the brilliant, but needy Day students.
Needy students are
usually faced with the challenges of how to get their pocket-monies,
transportation to and from school coupled with some basic educational needs.
Mr Mochia commended
the GNPC foundation for its toilet project for the school which was 90 percent
complete.
He also commended
Messrs Kobina Afful, CEO of Lower Pra Rural Bank and Kazeh Anfo-, CEO,
Kazeh-Moorem Company Limited for being instrumental in getting the 1984 batch
of the Nsein Old Student Association (NOSA) to start a two 10-seater toilet
facilities for the Girls ‘dormitories.
He also thanked
Messrs Afful and King James for donating five pieces of computers and their
accessories plus assorted books on Elective subjects to the school on behalf of
NOSA 1984.
Mr. Mochia mentioned
Mr. Joseph Forson, the General Manager of the Tema office of Electricity
Company of Ghana (ECG) for donating GHC1,500 for the purchase of assorted books
as his contribution to the school’s preparation towards the National Science
and Maths Quiz competition.
The Headmaster said
one of the challenges confronting the school was recruitment and mechanisation
of casual workers as his outfit had for a a long time been struggling to have
them enrolled unto the national payroll after the PTA signalled its inability
to pay their stipends.
But the move has
proved abortive.
Mr. Mochia added
that due to the ever-increasing enrolment figure, there was congestion at the
dining hall, which compelled students to have their meals in turns.
This had a negative
toll on instructional periods and the school’s Science and Laboratories, which
were also not in proper shape.
He appealed to NOSA
to paint the school block to befit the jubilee celebration.
The President of
NOSA, Nana Nkwanta Bisa re-echoed Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s words during the
commissioning of then Kwame Nkrumah Secondary School that he Nkrumah was not
“going to give money to sons and daughters of Nzema land, but would give
them education to know the value of God’s creation and be happy”
He said he believed
in Dr. Nkrumah’s philosophy that “it will be incoherently nonsensical for
one person to think that he has the brains ordained by God to control the
brains of others and the only way to assert oneself was through
education”.
Nana Nkwanta Bisa
recalled that the school enjoyed Peace Corps assistance during Dr. Nkrumah’s
regime from Britain, Barbados. America, Pakistan among others to teach various
subjects, which culminated in academic excellence.
The Board Chairman
of the school, Mr. Kodwo Atta Obeng said everything hinged on discipline,
without which there would be chaos.
Nsein secondary
school was established in 1960 with only few students and staff.
The school now
boasts of 2,048 students with 99 teaching and 42 non-teaching staff.
GNA
