By P.K. Yankey
Nkroful (W/R), Sept. 16, GNA – About 599 out of 602 final-year students of Nkroful Agricultural Senior High School (NASS) in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region have graduated after three years of rigorous academic training in various disciplines.
The graduation ceremony which was on the theme: “Celebrating Graduands Achievement and Encouraging them for Greater Heights”, brought together parents, traditional rulers, old students, and other stakeholders in education.
Professor Issaka Yakubu, a Lecturer at the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) School of Railway and Infrastructural Development, told the graduands to see themselves as potential future leaders and use the knowledge they had gained to shape Ghana and the world.
He commended the school’s management and teachers for their efforts in shaping the students and asked the graduates to be critical and innovative thinkers to create their own jobs to transform society.
Madam Gloria Biney Gontoh, the Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipal Director of Education, who represented the Western Regional Director of Education, paid glowing tributes to the school’s Board of Governors, and teachers for instituting the annual graduation ceremony to recognize the efforts of graduating students.
She asked the graduates to be disciplined, hardworking, and self-reliant as their foundation for the future.
The Education Director also advised them to resist peer pressure and stay away from challenges that would be injurious to their health such as drug abuse, homosexuality, pre-marital sex, gambling, and abuse of social media.
The Headmaster of the School, Mr Joseph Kwaw Blay, said the contribution of this year’s batch of leavers was exceptional and unprecedented in the annals of the school.
He said the students had bequeathed to the school, a staircase worth GHC90,000.00 and a -five-thousand capacity fishpond worth GHc60,000.00 as their legacy.
He said it was the greatest achievement of the school by students since its inception in 1972.
Mr Blay advised the graduates to be guided by experiences gained in the school to prepare them for adult life while upholding the moral values of the school such as knowledge, integrity, service, and self-discipline.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Ellembelle, Mr Kwasi Bonzoh, an old boy of the school, said NASS had witnessed an unprecedented development under his tenure with a-12-unit classroom block, a boys’ dormitory, a-20-seater ultra-modern toilet facility with the help of Ghana Gas, and a new girls’ dormitory currently under construction.
The DCE donated GHC5,000.00 to support the ceremony.
Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellembelle, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, in a speech read on his behalf, pledged his unflinching support for the school.
Mr Buah, who is also an old boy of NASS, donated 200 bags of cement in aid of a six-unit classroom block to expand existing infrastructure in the school.
Chief of Nkroful, Nana Kwasi Kutua V, who chaired the function, said Ghana was looking up to the graduands as the mantle of leadership would fall on them to salvage the nation from its myriads of problems.
He advised them to aim higher and pursue higher education despite challenges.
He congratulated parents for their efforts and advised them to continue to support their children to achieve their full potential in life.
GNA