By Nelson Ayivor
Keta (VR), Feb. 27, GNA – Keta Senior High Technical School has marked its 70th anniversary with a call on stakeholders and government to assist the school to address the infrastructure deficit to improve academic performance and teaching and learning outcomes.
Mr Issac Dzidzienyo, Headmaster of the School, made the call in an address at the ceremony held at the school premises on Saturday.
The Headmaster said the school was currently struggling with infrastructure challenges, which was hampering smooth academic work.
“KETASCO has been designated as “The Science Resource Centre” in the 80’s with only three laboratories – there has never been any improvement or expansion of the facility since its establishment with the physics, Chemistry and Biology laboratories suffering the same fate,” he said.
Mr Dzidzienyo said the population of science students at the time of the establishment of the Science Resource Centre was only 45, but the number currently stood at over 700 students which required the urgent expansion of the facility to cater for the large numbers.
He lamented the lack of an assembly hall for the school, a situation he said compelled the school to hold social gatherings and mock examinations under trees.
“It is an irony that for over 20 years now, a school of this calibre holds social gatherings and student mock examinations under trees all because we do not have an assembly hall- something has to be done and done quickly,” he appealed.
The headmaster added that the school’s dining hall, which was originally built to cater for less than 500 students, now caters for over two thousand students, compelling the students to run shifts affecting contact hours as the arrangement wastes a lot of time.
He said the school for over 13 years had to resort to the use of public transport to undertake official assignments as it lacked an official vehicle and called on the sector minister to provide the school with an official Pick-up vehicle.
The headmaster said despite the many challenges, the school continued to excel in academic performance over the years.
He congratulated all old students for their support to the school, both in cash and kind over the years and urged them to continue to do more to help in fixing the rest of the challenges.
Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister for Education, in a speech delivered on his behalf, praised the management, staff and the old students for their commitment to seeing to it that the school continued to perform creditably despite the various infrastructure shortfalls.
He pledged the government’s support in ensuring that these challenges, which cut across many second cycle institutions across the country, were fixed.
He said Education was a broad concept that also involved fostering innovation and creativity, which will be the engines of the country’s socio-economic success- Stakeholders must be prepared to make investments in the second-cycle education to accomplish this task.
This the Minister said entailed offering top-notch facilities and infrastructure as well as making research and development investments to guarantee that our curriculum is current and pertinent.
“Stakeholders must also guarantee that our teachers are properly qualified and equipped to provide the greatest results for our children-As a government, we continue to ensure the provision of quality education through determination and stakeholder involvement.
In order to fulfill our duty as a Ministry, we ensure that we initiate and implement innovative reforms with the help of our dedicated and committed stakeholders,” he said.
Keta Senior High Technical School (KETASCO) was established in 1953, upon the request of the Chiefs and Elders of Keta by then Prime Minister of the Gold Coast, Dr Kwame Nkrumah as a day Secondary School.
The school took off with 25 students, made up of 17 boys and 8 girls.
The school currently has a student population of 3,679, made up of 1,964 boys and 1, 715 girls with a staff strength of 188 teaching and non- teaching.
The anniversary was celebrated on the theme: “KETASCO at 70: Retrospect and Prospect.”
GNA