SOGASCO marks 60 years with grand durbar
Sogakope Senior High School (SOGASCO) in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region last Saturday rounded up its 60th anniversary celebration with a grand durbar.
The durbar which was on the theme: Leveraging ICT Education for National Development, attracted staff, students, former staff, traditional rulers, political leaders and a large representation of the old students.
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A Technical Adviser at the Ministry of Education (MOE), Sheila Naah Boamah, who was the guest of honour, said technological advancement was constantly changing the dynamics of industries.
Those changes, she said, were readily evident in the banking, e-commerce, entertainment, communication, health, transportation and education sectors.
For that matter, Mrs Boamah pointed out that information technology could not be kept out of the country’s education system.
ICT use in schools
“The need to integrate technology into our educational system is a key reform agenda and a lot of policies and actions are ongoing to ensure a systematic integration and the use of ICT in all schools,” she stressed.
Mrs Boamah affirmed that the MoE was aware ICT had become the most powerful way to drive competitiveness, economic growth and social development, and for that matter ICT must be made available in all schools to facilitate teaching and learning.
In the same vein, she said the Education Strategic Plan had an ambitious target to restructure the humanities-science ratio from the current 60:40 in favour of the humanities to 60:40 in favour of the sciences in tertiary institutions by 2030.
The technical adviser, therefore, urged the alumni of SOGASCO, the Parent Teacher Association and school authorities to collaborate and take the appropriate steps to get more students to opt for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) as they climbed the academic ladder.
Intervention
“We must intervene because our world of work has been significantly impacted by technology and if the present students must enjoy successful careers in future, it must start with the decisions we make on their behalf now,” she added.
Mrs Boamah congratulated SOGASCO for producing men and women of substance for the nation over the past six decades, saying the celebration provided a platform to recognise the sacrifices of those who helped in various ways to give birth to the school and keep it in track over the years.
Headmaster’s speech
The Headmaster, Newman H. K. Dziedzoave, said the school which took off in November 1961 with 13 students, made up of nine boys and four girls, now had an enrolment of 3,606.
In spite of that phenomenal increase in student population, he said SOGASCO had never been provided with a pickup vehicle to support administrative work.
He said currently, the school’s two buses were in a horrible state and often broke down in the middle of journeys to locations outside the school.
Mr Dziedzoave said lack of an assembly hall was a big challenge facing the school, and appealed for a 5,000-seating capacity assembly hall to relieve it of that discomfort.
The headmaster added that the school also needed an 18-unit classroom block to accommodate students with ease.
He said despite the challenges, SOGASCO had since its establishment performed creditably academically, with its products contributing to national development in various sectors.
The Paramount Chief of the Fieve traditional area, Togbega Agama Amata V, also a renowned lawyer and an old student of SOGASCO who chaired the durbar, entreated the students to study diligently towards a bright future.