The Biakoye District Director of Education (DDE), Mrs Roselyn Ofori, has stressed the need for old students to support their alma mater to improve on infrastructure and provide other supports relevant in the promotion of quality education for the benefit of the present and the future generations.
Mrs Ofori said quality secondary education was not just about academics but also included the provision of conducive learning environments, as well as essential facilities such as modern toilets and bathrooms, among others, that would ensure peace of mind of learners.
The DDE was speaking on the theme: "Providing Quality Secondary Education: The Role of Old Students" at the inaugural ceremony of 12 seater -water closet toilet and 20 capacity bathrooms facility for Nkonya Senior High School (SHS) girls dormitory provided by Mr Richard Acheapong and the wife, both old students of the school.
Mrs Ofori observed that the investment made by Mr and Mrs Acheampong had significantly enhanced the school's infrastructure, which demonstrated the impact of old students contribution in promoting development of their former schools, and called on old students of NKOSEC to emulate the gesture of Mr and Mrs Acheampong.
Mr Acheampong, the 1989 year group and a native of Nkonya explained that he and the family were domiciled in the United Kingdom, came home and visited the school but when they got to the girls dormitory, they realised the girls were using an old KVIP in an open space covered with iron sheets, serving as bathroom which did not promote good health among girls.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Mr Acheampong said upon seeing the poor situation, he and the wife mobilised resources and provided the facilities for the girls to prevent any disease associated with the use of the unhygienic facilities, and said the investment was in recognition of the important role NKOSEC played in their formative stage of life because her wife also attended the same school and completed in 1994.
He explained that the GHC420, 000 facility was to pay back the investment NKOSEC and the NKonya community made in them through the provision of quality secondary education, which made it possible for them to become who they are, and appealed to other old students to support the school.
Mr Acheampong said great educational institutions in Ghana and across the world were built through the support of old students, and added that the greatest investment old students could make was to support their alma mater, because it was clear that the government alone could not afford to bring the needed development to the people.
The Paramount Chief of Nkonya-Ahenkro Traditional Area, Nanai Okotor Kwame Tegyi II, assured Ghanaians that the Nkonya-Alavanyo conflict was over since 2019, and that the area was peaceful, therefore they should encourage their children to select NKOSEC as their first choice for quality education.
The Headmaster of NKOSEC, Mr Moses Kwabena Ansah, said the school had first class school infrastructure but unfortunately, the facilities were underutilised because of refusal of parents to send their wards to the school, and announced that the current student population was 759 but the school could admit up to 4,000 students.
