Abuakwa State College launches 85th anniversary
The Abuakwa State College in the Eastern Region has launched its 85th anniversary and 60th Speech and Prize Giving Day with a call on key stakeholders to contribute to the school's development.
The school, known popularly as ABUSCO, is the first public Secondary School now Senior High School, to have been established in the Eastern Region in 1937.
Advertisement
Speaking at the launch at the GNAT Hall in Accra, a Medical Research Scientist at the Parasitology Department of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research University of Ghana, Legon who is also an old student of the school, Professor Daniel Agyei Boakye, paid a glowing tribute to the founders of the school for their vision to bring education to the people of Eastern Region and the country as a whole.
For him, the time has come for the various stakeholders of the school, particularly past students, parents, Parents Teacher Association (PTA), chiefs and people of the Eastern Region as well as the government to invest in the school's development for a brighter future.
He said the College since its establishment in 1937 has produced several renowned individuals who have all contributed in the various sectors of the country's development.
Speaking on the theme for the celebration, "Sustaining 85 years of quality: the stakeholder factor", Prof. Boakye said to build a brighter future for the school required concerted efforts from all stakeholders.
He called on the teaching and non-teaching staff of the school to instil discipline and high moral standards in the students, saying that discipline forms the bedrock for any meaningful academic pursuit.
“The staff should consider the students as theirs and mentor and inculcate in them qualities that will make them stand out tall in whatever they choose to do. The benefits are immense if we do it with love and dedication,” he said.
85th anniversary
The event, scheduled for November this year include activities such as homecoming, counselling sessions, mentorship programmes, funfairs and a series of lectures.
Whilst calling for more investment in the school’s infrastructure and other facilities needed to improve academic work in the school, Prof. Boakye charged the students of the school to remember the reason for which they had been sent to the school.
"Take your education seriously so that in the near future you can bring honour to yourself, teachers and your loved ones," he advised, adding “the role of the student body is to remember the purpose of why they are in school and why their parents, the staff of the school, the government and others are investing in their development.”
He cautioned the students against any activity that could bring the name of the school into disrepute, encouraging the students to take advantage of the new technologies such as the internet to improve their academic activities.
He also urged parents and old students of the school to collaborate with the teachers and management in ensuring quality teaching and learning in the school, saying that teachers alone could not do the work.
Prof. Boakye also called on all stakeholders particularly old students to help establish an endowment fund that could be used to support development in the school, commending the Abusco old students' association, also known as Abuscodians for their continued support to the school.
Active participants
The Chairperson for the occasion, Mrs Elizabeth Ofori Atta (Nana Asabea), the wife of Okyehene, urged current and past students to participate in the 85th-anniversary activities.
She also called on old students to mentor the current students, explaining that providing mentorship programmes for the students by the old students was one of the ways to give back to the school.
She further admonished the current students to use the Internet to upgrade themselves and not to denigrate themselves.
She said inasmuch as the Internet provided vast opportunities, wrongful use could damage one’s future.