By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Lungu (U/E), Nov 6, GNA-The Father Lebel Primary School at Lungu in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region has marked its 40th anniversary with renewed commitment to quality education and high moral standards.
Established in September 1984, in a humble church building and with the permission of Fr Lebel, the then Parish Priest of St Anne’s Parish, Bongo, the school admitted its first school population of 60 pupils.
The school, which was officially inaugurated by Mr Robert Ajene, a retired educationist, was first headed by Mr Ndole Bananas Awine, who served with dedication from 1984 to 1987.
The Anniversary was marked by the celebration of Holy Mass and cultural performances by the pupils, staff, and members of the Lungu community.
A durbar was also held to help raise funds to help to address the school’s challenges to improve academic performance.
Speaking at the celebration, Mr Thomas Azure Alukuke, Headteacher of the School, touted the school’s achievement over the last 40 years, acknowledging that it had excelled in various fields including academics, sports, and cultural competitions.
“Our enrollment has steadily increased since our early days, evidence of the community’s trust in our mission…currently, the school is among the highest populated schools in the district with over 400 pupils”, he said.
“Academically, we have produced many students to feed the Fr Lebel and other Junior High Schools in the surrounding communities and the district at large and many of these students have excelled in their educational careers and are doing well in various sectors of the economy.”
Mr Alukuke paid tribute to the founders and previous leaders of the school for their immense contribution to the growth and success of the school and reiterated the commitment of current management and staff to continue the path of academic excellence, discipline, and productivity.
Despite the success chocked, the Headteacher noted, the school continued to face numerous challenges including infrastructure, teaching, and materials and appealed to stakeholders including the Ghana Education Service, the Bongo District Assembly and Non- Governmental Organisations among others to come to their aid.
“However, along this journey, we have faced and continue to face significant challenges. The rising enrollment has led to a shortage of classrooms, and our students often struggle with inadequate seating and writing space.
“Also, we are not yet connected to electricity, an obstacle in this age of technology. Our six-unit classroom block at Fr. Lebel ‘B’ remains uncompleted, and we lack housing for teachers who travel long distances to be with us daily,” he lamented.
Mr Alukuke stressed that despite the world moving towards digitalization, the school did not have computers, putting the pupils at a disadvantage position as compared other schools.
Mr Francis Ndaago, Catholic Education Unit, Bongo District, said the Unit had supported the renovation of teachers’ quarters for the school which was almost completed and appealed to the community to get involved in the development of the school to create conducive environment for their wards.
The Unit had already provided six hexagonal tables and 60 chairs to the school’s kindergarten level, contributing to improved teaching and learning.
Mr Roger Asaah, Deputy Director in Charge of Finance, Bongo District Directorate of Ghana Education Service, congratulated the school on its milestone and assured management of his office’s resolve to address teacher shortage as soon as possible.
He urged the Assemblymember of the area to advocate more infrastructure for the school at the District Assembly level as it was the main state institution responsible for providing infrastructure.
GNA