St. Basilide’s Technical Institute celebrates Golden Jubilee amidst many challenges

By Philip Tengzu

Kaleo, (UW/R), June 19, GNA – The St. Basilide’s Vocational and Technical Institute in Kaleo, Nadowli-Kaleo District, has celebrated its Golden Jubilee amidst many challenges management will need to surmount to provide quality training to the students.

The challenges include; lack of a library and a dining hall, inadequate classrooms and students’ dormitories and inadequate food among others.

Brother Fabian Bezel, the Principal of the Institute, who revealed this during the Grand Finale of the school’s 50th-anniversary celebration in Kaleo, said the library was the top priority of the school.

The anniversary was on the theme: “Harnessing Technical/Vocational Education for the Holistic Development of the Ghanaian Child”.

Scores of people including leadership of the Catholic Church, Ghana Education Service, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), former students of the school and well-wishers among others graced the occasion.

“When the brothers were managing the school the enrollment was very low, we used to take at most 25 (students) so that we can give them effective practical training in the workshop, and at that time the practical training was very intensive.

“A time came and enrollment went up, particularly during the introduction of the Free Senior High School. Currently, we have 1,185 students and the hostel facilities are just very few”, Mr Bezel.

He said he had to “beg” for a structure which used to house the seminarians to use temporarily as a hostel for some of the students while an uncompleted dormitory structure was used as classrooms.

He said the Institute had secured a parcel of land to cultivate food crops to supplement foodstuff they received from the government to feed the students.

Mr Bezel said the students currently sit under trees to eat and expressed hope that the ongoing dining hall project would soon be completed and put to use.

He appealed to the government to facilitate the timely completion of all ongoing government projects in the school including the boys’ dormitory to reduce their challenges.

The St. Basilide’s Technical/Vocational Institute was founded in 1973 through the idea of some Missionaries – Brothers John van Winden, Henry Schurs (Borgias) and Jos Van Dinther – to build and develop the potential of the youth in the region through skills training.

The Institute, with a current student population of 1,185, had since churned out valuable human resources for the country in diverse sectors of the national economy.

The Institute had passed through the hands of nine principals with Mr Bezel being the tenth.

The Principal described the anniversary as joyous following the impact of the Institute on the lives of people in the region and beyond.

“Over the years, we have trained people, now serving Mother Ghana in various capacities, we are very happy and we are celebrating these achievements today”, he indicated.

Some deserving individuals who had contributed in diverse ways to the growth of the Institute including past principals, and past and present staff among others were honoured at the event.

GNA