SWESCO, Ghana’s first GET school is 60 years

The Swedru Senior High School, popularly called SWESCO, is a co-educational boarding second cycle institution in Agona-Asafo near Agona-Swedru in the Agona- East District in the Central Region. The school is 60 years old.

SWESCO is the first Ghana Education Trust (GET) Secondary School to be established by the first President of the Republic of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah in 1958. As part of national policy to provide more second cycle institutions to absorb the large numbers of school pupils who have benefited from Nkrumah’s free Universal Primary Education programme launched in 1951, the Nkrumah administration set up the GET secondary schools with the same architectural designs across the country.

Nana Ayirebi Acquah, the then Chief of Winneba and the Effutu Traditional Area was the first Chairman of the trust.

Most of the beneficiaries of the free Universal Primary Education launched by the Nkrumah government were unable to secure admission into the existing 38 government-assisted secondary schools in the country, most of which were missionary schools.

The GET programme was, thus part of an Accelerated Development Plan to empower the young generation through the provision of good and quality education. The GET scheme was also meant to encourage the youth from the rural districts and children of cocoa farmers to enjoy secondary education within their own localities.

The foundation stone for SWESCO was laid on June 28, 1958 by Mr Kojo Botsio of blessed memory, then the Trade and Industry Minister.