Accra, July 21, GNA – To enhance the academic performance of students, especially in their final year examination, Mrs Mercy Catherine Adjabeng, a Communications and Media Advisor on Tuesday donated English Literature books to selected Senior High Schools in Accra.
The 105-page book, titled, “Understanding English Literature”, was donated to the Forces Secondary Technical School in Burma Camp and the St. Thomas Aquinas Senior High School, Cantonment.
Each school received a total of 110 books, all valued at GH¢ 4,000.00, that explained into detail what literature is, the elements of literature, and types of literature.
Mrs Adjabeng, the Author of the book, who is a former English Language and Literature teacher at the Wesley Girls’ High School, Cape Coast, said she was pleased to contribute to the academic excellence of students, who were going to play a pivotal role in the development of the nation.
“I’ve been a tutor for many years, I continue to engage students in several ways and I believe we all have to support the academic excellence of Ghana’s transformational leaders in the making. That is why it is a great joy for me to have this opportunity to do so, through the use of these books”.
She was convinced that the donation was a timely intervention to boost the academic performance of students in English language and literature courses as they prepared to write their external Certificate Examination in August 2020.
She believed teachers could also use the book as a facilitator’s handbook to enhance their teaching, adding that, the book ultimately aimed at providing a complete guide for general reading, studying, and a straightforward approach to understanding and enjoying literature.
Mrs Adjabeng said English was the language of instruction and assessment in schools and a poor command over the language affected performance no matter the level of skills.
“For instance, in the 2018 WASSCE, a total of 193,882 candidates representing 61.67 per cent failed to obtain the pass mark for the English Language to enable them to gain admission into the University. Out of this number, 68,002 which represent 21.6 per cent obtained F9 or failed in the English Language. This is a serious threat to the academic capital, labour force, and sustainable development of this country,” she noted.
She expressed gratitude to her sponsors; Stanbic Bank Ghana, I-ZAR Group, Effe Farms, and Trading Enterprise and other benevolent individuals for their support.
She appealed to parents, past students, and corporate organisations to support her to scale up the distribution to other schools, especially the underprivileged ones to enhance the overall academic performance in literacy in the country.
Lieutenant Osman Shamun Zuneidu, the Headmaster of the Forces Secondary Technical School, who expressed gratitude to the donor for the support, said the books would go a long way to prepare the students well for their final examination.
It would also serve as a reference book at the School’s library for all students studying Core English Language and Literature in English, he said.
He called on Mrs Adjabeng to volunteer to the School as a Resource Person to take the students through the English Literature and as an Ambassador of the school to promote the development of the students, especially the girl child.
Mr Paul Amoasi Baidoo, the Headmaster of the St. Aquinas Senior High School implored God’s abundant blessings on Mrs Adjabeng, after expressing gratitude to her on behalf of management, board, staff, and students.
He gave an assurance that the school would make good use of the books and let in reflect on the results of their final examination.
GNA