23/06/2025
FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER CALLS FOR NEW ORIENTATION TOWARDS SKILL-BASED EDUCATION
Story: Benjamin Makafui Attipoe, Abor
The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Member of Parliament (MP) for the Akatsi South Constituency of the Volta Region, Hon. Bernard Ahiafor has called for a new orientation towards skill-based education which undoubtedly, is the bedrock for the development of every nation including Ghana. According to the Akatsi South lawmaker, skill-based education has helped countries like Germany, Japan, China and Singapore to accelerate the pace of their development.
The First Deputy Speaker made the call at the 60th Anniversary Launch of the Abor Senior High School (ABORSCO) at Abor in the Keta Municipality of the Volta Region.
The colourful event which was under the theme, ‘60 Years of Impactful Journey; Providing Transformative Secondary Education through Indigenous Values and 21st Century Skills’, brought together a number of dignitaries and old boys who pledged their unwavering support in various ways towards the overall development of the school.
ABORSCO was established on 1st October, 1965 as a community private school through the leadership of the chiefs and people as well as the members of the Abor Youth Association (AYA). It started with fifteen (15) students and a few teachers. In 1982, the Government of Ghana (GOG) took over the school with fifty-four (54) students with the current Board Chairman of the school, Lawyer Nelson Kporxa being one of the 54 students, nine (9) of whom eventually ended up writing the then General Certificate of Education (GCE) Ordinary (‘O’) Level at Abor.
The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament who is also an old student of ABORSCO, noted that such a practical skill-oriented education from the Basic Education level through the Senior High School (SHS) to the tertiary level is essential so that students would be well-equipped with the needed skills that would enable them set up on their own.
Mr. Ahiafor encouraged graduates as well as artisans such as hairdressers, carpenters and masons from the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) space as well as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education to come together to form businesses. This, according to the Akatsi South MP, would make it easier for them to access government support and also source facilities from financial institutions to expand and sustain their businesses, generate employment and create wealth for the nation.
‘The mission of Abor Senior High School which is to provide quality education, enabling students to acquire skills for personal and societal development, contributing to poverty reduction and socio-economic growth, is most appropriate. This is the kind of practical and holistic education that Ghana needs in this era of our development’, the First Deputy Speaker emphasized.
The Regional Minister, Hon. James Gunu lauded ABORSCO for producing a lot of Human Resource materials for the region and country at large. According to him, education is a collective responsibility of all stakeholders in the education space, assuring that government would do everything possible to complement the efforts of the other stakeholders such as the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and the Old Students’ Association (ASSOSA) to improve infrastructure as well as guarantee effective teaching and learning at the school.
The Regional Director of Education, Mr. Francis Yaw Agbemadi commended ABORSCO for standing as a shining example of what purposeful vision, dedicated leadership and strong community collaboration can achieve for six (6) remarkable decades. He was also elated about the discipline values of the school, noting that no student of the school has emerged among the occurrence of the rising tides of students’ substance abuse, violent behavior, occultism and attack on fellow students and even teachers.
Earlier in his address to the gathering, the Headmaster of the school, Rev. Dr. Seth Agbeyome said since its establishment in October, 1965 with 15 students, ABORSCO has grown to hit a student enrolment of more than one thousand, six hundred (1,600) and over one hundred and thirty (130) dedicated teaching and non-teaching staff.
According to him, the school has made significant strides over the years in the areas of academic, sports and moral training, producing all manner of scholars including lawyers, engineers, teachers, health professionals, entrepreneurs, reverend ministers, chiefs, journalists as well as civil and public servants who are impacting lives across Ghana and beyond.
The Headmaster mentioned lack of teachers’ bungalows, a 65-seater school bus, a multi-purpose assembly hall complex, a fence wall around the school, a technical and vocational department as well as a basketball court and sports infrastructure, as some of the major challenges facing the school and its development. Rev. Dr. Agbeyome used the opportunity to appeal to government, the old students and all stakeholders to come to the aid of the school.
Other dignitaries who spoke at the function included the Municipal Chief Executives (MCEs) for Akatsi South and Keta, Hon. Daniel Dagba and Hon. Wisdom Seade respectively, the Keta Municipal Director of Education, Mr. Gayheart Avudzivi as well as the President of the Abor Senior High School Old Students’ Association (ASSOSA), Mr. Raphael Edem Yawlui.
The event later saw the grand and joint unveiling of the design and logo of the 60th anniversary cloth by the First Deputy Speaker and the Regional Minister.
The school cultural as well as the choreography groups took turns to entertain the gathering in addition to some performances by the school choir.
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