Bechem Presby SHS holds 50th anniversary
The Presbyterian Senior High School at Bechem in the Brong Ahafo Region has marked its 50th anniversary with a call on school authorities to involve students in the formulation of school rules and regulations to curb the rising spate of indiscipline.
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The Omanhene of the Bechem Traditional Area, Nana Fosu Gyeabuor Akoto, who made the call, noted that along with academic performance, indiscipline in schools was ranked as one of the major concerns of the public about schools in the country.
“There is the need to find a lasting solution to the issue of indiscipline. This will make education more productive because indiscipline has a negative effect on academic performance,” he said.
According to Nana Akoto, when there was effective discipline in a school, effective teaching and learning took place for positive academic achievements because self-discipline yielded good results, while indiscipline led to a high rate of failure.
Establishment
The celebration of the 50th anniversary, which was marked with various activities, was crowned with a durbar on the theme: “Enhancing Quality Education Through Effective Discipline.”
The school, which was initiated by the late Omanhene of the Bechem Traditional Area, Nana Fosu Gyeabuor, and handed over to the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, was formally opened on February 23, 1966.
Today, the school has a total population of 2,532 of which 1,837 are boarders, while 695 are day students from the initial 50. It has 105 teachers and 87 non-teaching staff.
Headmaster’s address
In his address, the headmaster of the school, Mr Raymond Agyemang, said since 2000, the performance of the school had been improving which had enabled it to be classified among the Grade ‘A’ schools in the country.
He stated that the school recorded 100 per cent, 99 per cent and 100 per cent in the 2014, 2015 and 2016 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) respectively.
Mr Agyemang added that through the untiring efforts of both staff and students, discipline in the school was encouraging, despite its large population.
He expressed the school’s appreciation to the government, the chiefs and people of the Bechem Traditional Area, past headmasters, tutors and students for nurturing the school from its humble beginning to its present status.
In her address, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tano South, who is also a deputy minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Hanna Louisa Bissiw, gave the assurance that the government would continue to provide the needed infrastructure to enhance teaching and learning in schools.
She mentioned the construction of the E-Block for the Derma SHS, and administrative block at the Presbyterian Senior High/Commercial School, Techimantia, dining hall project at Presec, Bechem, and the provision of bunked beds and dual desks to some schools in the district.
Dr Bissiw appealed to stakeholders to complement the efforts of the government by contributing to the development of schools in the area.
Speaking on the theme of the celebration, the guest speaker, Reverend Dr Kofi Effa Ababio of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana stated that quality education should take into account not only the academic development of the child but his spiritual and moral development as well.
“This is the nature of the quality education which holistically trains the child in a way that enables the child to utilise fully the mind, the heart and hands for the development and the progress of the nation. This type of education is enhanced through effective discipline.”
Certificates and prizes were awarded to students, past and present staff for contributing to the success story of the school.
