Veep Inspires Children

THE PRESENCE of Vice President, John Dramani Mahama on the premises of Achimota Basic School last Saturday, was not only inspirational for the children but was also a nostalgic feeling for the vice-president as he returns to his alma mater.

The vice-president had joined the pupils and staff of the school to mark its 50th anniversary and Speech and Prize Giving ceremony with pageantry.

Coincidentally, the occasion also marked the 51st birthday of Mr. Mahama and the children used the occasion to sing the “Happy birthday to you” song to the vice-president.

The theme for the celebration, which was: “Education, an investment for future”, brought some high profile personality like Ken Ofori Atta, who chaired the function and an Akorette (an old pupil).

Inspiring the children with his nostalgic stories as he recounted how he was enrolled in the school, the vice-president called on school children to take their lessons seriously as that was the only way to reach their goals of becoming good adults in the future.

As an Akorette, Mr. Mahama urged the children to take advantage of the numerous opportunities available to them while in school to develop themselves.

He told the pupils how he started school as an innocent boy at the age of five years and some of the experiences he went through before leaving for Tamale Secondary School in the Northern Region for his second cycle education.

According to Mr. Mahama his days in Tamasco helped shaped his personality which propelled him into politics and his current position as the vice-president of the Republic of Ghana.

He mentioned the boarding school system as one of the most important contribution to making Ghana “an island of peace in the midst of an ocean of instability”.

This was to describe the situation in the sub-region where Ghana is surrounded by three countries with limited stability and volatile conditions.

The Vice President said the school's boarding system had made most of its products to "bond well" no matter their ethnic background which fostered peace and unity in the country.

He thanked teachers who taught him at the school and commended the current staff for working hard to maintain the high academic standard of the school.

Mr Samuel Bannerman-Mensah, Director General of the Ghana Education Service, cautions schools against resorting to dubious means to get their students to pass examinations, which had resulted in the current examination malpractices.

He said that education should not be reduced to just passing examinations but should be used as tool for holistic human development for improved performance.

The Director-General urged parents to pay their children’s school fees regularly and on time to avoid children paying the price of being axed from school.

Mr Bannerman-Mensah called on parents to invest in the education of their children to enable them to benefit from the country's oil find and other opportunities.

Mr. Frank Armah, Headmaster of Achimota Junior High School, appealed for assistance to fence round the school to end encroachment on its lands, stop regular burglary and the use of their premises by commercial drivers who tried to avoid the traffic conjunction on their main road.

He appealed for a vehicle since the only bus was inadequate.

The Achimota School, which was established in 1927, was closed and reopened by Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana first President in 1959. It currently has a student population of 3217 pupils excluding the senior high school level students.


Story by: Wisdom Peter Awuku (Office Of The Vice President)