Thieves force school to abandon farm project

Denu (V/R), March 16, GNA - Activities of suspected thieves have forced the authorities of Three Town Senior High School (THREESEC) at Denu in Ketu South district to abandon a farming project established to support the school.

Unidentified persons were said to have regularly raided the large farm at Laklevikope at night ahead of harvest time. Mr Michael Atsu, Headmaster of the School, said this in his report at the school's 17th Anniversary celebration and first formal speech and prize-giving day at Denu at the weekend.

He called for support for the institution, which he said was bedevilled with poor or non-existent infrastructure, despite its continuous good performance in both academic and non-academic areas. Problems of boarding, classrooms and staff accommodation, poor laboratory facilities and lack of assembly hall, Mr Atsu said, needed to be tackled with urgency to position the school in view of the high admission demands on it and for the successful implementation of the education reform programme.

"The staff common room is too small, forcing some tutors to sit under trees while there are no offices for the two assistant headmasters," Mr Atsu said adding that the headmaster's office could barely accommodate four persons at a time. He said there were 1,028 students with staff strength of 46, adding that the school chalked 100 percent in the final exams last year. It also recorded high success in sports and cultural competition at zonal, regional and national levels.

Mr Atsu appealed for support in claiming part of the wetlands area behind the school to make enough land available for expansion. Mrs Olivia Sosu, Volta Regional Director of Education, in a speech read for her, said the new education reform placed premium on practical manipulative teaching and learning to equip the learner with the skills to become self reliant in life. The reforms also aimed at widening the bracket of opportunities in the sector so as to grow the needed level of human resources as a major component of the critical mix of strategies to propel a faster growth of the country. Mrs Sosu commended staff and students of THREESEC for their hard work and achievements despite the poor environment and asked both the students and tutors to remain focused to achieve more for themselves and society. She asked students to remain disciplined and the teachers to live above reproach.

Mrs Sosu also appealed to parents to seek for opportunities in private higher institutions of learning for their children because they held equal opportunities as the public ones for professional training. Mr Kofi Dzamesi, Volta Regional Minister in an address read for him, announced plans to build a storey block of 12 classrooms for the school under a GH¢20 million GETfund support. Mr Albert Zigah, Member of Parliament (MP) Ketu-South, pledged 200 bags of cement and GH¢3,500 from his share of the common fund to support the school.

Prizes, including books were presented to deserving students, tutors and some members of the community for uplifting the image of the school.