Government is keen on putting in place key pillars which will lead to the realisation of its vision of a new and transformed economy despite fallouts from the current global economic crisis, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has said.
According to the Vice President, while emerging challenges continue to impact the cost of living worldwide, government is unrelenting in delivering its core mandate.
This includes the introduction of a Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy which has so far deepened the enrolment of students by offering equal opportunities to all, especially underprivileged students, as well as enhancing gender parity at the SHS level.
The Vice President was speaking at the ‘Centenary Anniversary Launch and Fund Raising of the Accra High School’, and reckoned that while government might not have fully realised its vision for the country, he encourages Ghanaians to eschew the mindset of impossibilities.
“We must allow our mindset to build our courage so that we can be among the best in the world at anything. Some of our Senior High Schools are winning global robotics competitions. We must believe in our capabilities and do away with the impossibility mindset.”
The Vice President, while acknowledging the school’s contribution to national development, said the theme ‘Accra High School at 100, the State of Education, the School and the Future’ enjoins stakeholders to take stock and play their roles to advance development of the school.
Also speaking at the ceremony, the Minister of Education Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum argued that the FSHS policy is not a political gimmick but a key policy that will contribute to enhancing the country’s gross tertiary enrolment ratio.
Currently, Ghana’s gross tertiary enrolment ratio is estimated at 20 percent.
Dr. Osei Adutwum said: “FSHS and Free TVET are not ends in themselves but means to the country’s total transformation”.
He added that a lot is being done to improve education, including the construction of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) facilities across the country while equipping existing schools.
The Headmistress of Accra High School, Evelyn Nabia, in her remarks acknowledged the growing student population which now stands at 2,636 with a staff strength of 160.
She disclosed that government has approved and restored the school to its boarding status. Given this, she appealed for government to provide the school with some key infrastructural facilities and vehicles to meet its new status.
These include dormitories for students, an administration block, staff accommodation facilities, as well as renovating existing structures of the school, among others.
She further outlined the programmes and activities planned for the centenary celebrations which run from November 2022 to November 2023.
