Obuasi (Ash), Oct. 04, GNA – Professor Rita Akosua Dickson, Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has commended AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine School, for maintaining higher standards in education delivery.
She said the impact and contributions made by the school and continues to make in the lives of many Ghanaians both home and abroad cannot be overlooked.
Prof. Dickson stated this in an address read on her behalf at a durbar to climax the 60th Anniversary celebrations of the school at Obuasi.
She said the school had survived many changes and challenges in the educational landscape but had still maintained the best standards in terms of quality tuition and educational facilities at the pre-university educational level.
“The significant contributions of this school in nurturing young ones to become prominent people who are playing diverse roles in the development of this country cannot be overlooked.
The school has really given passports to those who passed through to have a better future”, she stated.
Prof. Dickson used the occasion to thank AngloGold Ashanti (AGA), for its immense contributions towards educational development in Obuasi.
She said the KNUST valued the partnership it enjoys with the company and cited AGA’s role in the establishment of the KNUST Obuasi campus by giving out its facilities for the smooth take off of the school, as well as making financial contributions towards renovation works on the facilities.
Prof. Dickson encouraged the youth in Obuasi to take advantage of the numerous training programmes being undertaken by AngloGold at its training center to enable them to acquire the requisite skills to make themselves employable.
Mr Emmanuel Baidoo, Senior Manager Sustainability, AngloGold Ashanti, said AGA continues to demonstrate commitment to ensure inclusive and equitable education in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
This he said was consistent with the company’s value intention of leaving its communities with a sustainable future for the youth.
Mr. Baidoo said in the bid to improve the pass rate of the Basic Education Certificate Examination of schools in and around Obuasi, the company had introduced the Basic Education Improvement Program.
The programme had succeeded in supplying furniture to schools, motor bikes for Circuit Supervisors as well as organising capacity building for teachers and Circuit Supervisors in Obuasi.
“As owners of the AGA school, AngloGold Ashanti will continue to support it as part of our long term social investment strategy and build on their excellent academic achievements”, he added.
Mr. Anis Haffar, a Ghanaian educationist, teacher, columnist, and author mentioned three key objectives underlying education as captured in the new Ghana Education Service curriculum.
These, he said, were what could be produced with education, services one could provide to make the lives of other people better, and how education could solve societal problems.
Mr. Haffar appealed to AngloGold Ashanti to build a Senior High school to absorb the students who would complete the Junior High School.
Mr. Samuel Peter Atta- Cato, Executive Director of the school highlighted the key achievements of the school since its establishment in 1960.
He said between 1991 and 2010, the school was an active member of UNESCO and won many awards.
He also spoke about the enviable academic records of the school in terms of BECE results and said from 2018 to date, the school had been adjudged the best BECE school in the Ashanti Region.
Mr. Atta-Cato attributed the successes chalked by the school over the years, to hard work on the part of both teachers and pupils as well as strictly adhering to professionalism and best practices.
The AngloGold Ashanti School was established in 1960 with four pupils at the Obuasi Sports Club.
It was established to cater for the educational needs of the children of expatriates and workers of the mine at the time.
It currently has about 2,910 pupils.
GNA