Koforidua Secondary Senior High School
The Headmaster of Koforidua Senior High Technical School Ofori Antwi says he apologized over the viral video which exposed bed challenges at the school because it was being used to attack the free SHS policy.
The video, taken by an old student of the school, captured students sleeping on the floor in congested dormitories. It comes in the wake of increased public scrutiny of the challenges confronting students as a result of the Free SHS policy, which has increased enrolment.
Government has responded by giving school 350 double-decker metal beds and 700 pieces of mattresses.
Speaking to Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Tuesday, Mr. Antwi said the apology was offered on his accord without any influence from the education minister or the Ghana Education Service.
“I felt the need to apologize. No one asked me to apologize. It came out of my own volition. I was apologizing for the bad image the video gave the school and the comments that came from politicians. I had to apologize because of the bad image it gave the school. I listened to programs and some parents said they were not going to send their wards there and people also used the issue to run down the free SHS policy,” he said.
He said he was not worried when the Education Minister mentioned him and the video when he had his press conference on Sunday,
“I was okay with the Minster asking that I do a video when the items are believed because I’d made a promise to myself that when the things are fixed, I’ll counter that video. The Education Minister didn’t call after the video went viral but the Deputy Director-General called me. Before the video went viral, they didn’t ask my permission and that’s where I had a problem.
Meanwhile, the Chief Perfect in Koforidua SECTECH, Benjamin Ampah Dukakis, said the inadequate bed situation forced some students to sleep on the floor which was a nightmare to many students and affected their academic performance.
“In terms of where to sleep it was a very major problem and for today we are privileged to have these beds, I think this will help subsidize the rate at which students had nowhere to sleep. We thank the President, the Education Minister, we will make all effort to keep it in good condition so that could be passed on to generations to come,” Benjamin Ampah told Starr News.
The New Juaben Municipal Education Director, Victor Degraft Etsison stated that the intervention is a manifestation of the government’s commitment to responding to the needs of the various public Senior High Schools in the country.