President Akufo-Addo has paid a tribute to the first headmaster of Lawra Senior High School (LAWSEC), Alhji Raheem Gbadamosi for laying a strong foundation for the growth of the School.
The President also commended the first headmaster of LAWSEC for “his significant contributions to formal education in Ghana”.
President Akufo-Addo indicated that under the watch of Alhaji Gbadamosi and successive heads, Lawra Senior High School has succeeded in producing thousands of students who are now occupying various positions of importance in different sectors of society.
The President was speaking at the 50th anniversary of LAWSEC at Lawra in the Upper West Region.
The Headmaster of LAWSEC, Yeng Simon Bonsodong announced that the School was established, October 11, 1968 with 55 students with Alhaji Raheem Gbadamosi as the first Headmaster.
The student population of the School is one thousand 964 and out of the number, 643 are girls.
There are130 staff in the School and 60 of them are non-teaching staff. Mr. Bonsodong told the gathering that LAWSEC was established with the vision of nurturing young minds and developing them to take charge of their own lives and for productive roles in society and that the school is delivering in terms of its vision.
The Headmaster said: “Discipline is one of our strongest hallmarks and we instill it judiciously because we believe it is a catalyst for excellent academic work.”
Mr Bonsodong said: “the School presented 669 students for the 2018 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). Of this, the percentage pass was 98.65. Our best aggregate was eleven (11) and three boys got that; two from the Science Department and on from Arts class. The best aggregate from amongst the girls was 13.Indeed, she needs commendation and Support”
The Headmaster of LAWSEC mentioned inadequate human resource and staff accommodation, lack of Assembly Hall among others as some the challenges of the school.
He pointed out that with the` increased number of students, the old dining hall cannot contain all the students at a sitting and they are forced to eat in batches.
President Akufo-Addo stated that, “With ingenuity and innovation of government through the Ghana Education Trust Fund has secured a 1.5-billion-Dollar facility to develop infrastructure in our schools.
Once the Parliamentary approval is obtained, the first tranch of this facility will be used to build more classroom blocks and dormitories in our schools to give to our schools appropriate facilities to meet the demands of 21st Century.”
The President demanded innovative strategies from heads in the running of their schools as a way complementing government’s efforts. President Akufo Addo announced that he has set in motion a procurement process under GETFund for the construction of a new Assembly Hall Complex as a 50th Anniversary package for LAWSEC and also responded to other requests from the Headmaster.
The Paramount Chief of Lawra, Naa Puowele Karbo commended the President for his decision to implement the Free Senior High School policy.
“We particularly applaud you for the bold decision to implement the Free Senior High School policy which is to ensure that no child in Ghana is deprived of secondary education because of poverty. This policy no doubt, has brought relief to many parents and eliminated the anxiety and panic which usually characterized admissions to Senior High School in the past,” he observed.
The MP for Lawra Anthony Karbo thanked the President Akufo-Addo for visiting Lawra three times since his assumption of office, saying the visits show the President’s love for the people of Lawra.
Story by Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo
