Professor Smile Gavua Dzisi, Acting Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Education Service in Charge of Management Services, says discipline and respect remain fundamental values of educational experience.
She said while they encouraged creativity, freedom of expression, and innovation among students, this must be balanced with a strong moral compass.
Prof Smile was speaking at the 60th National Anniversary Launch of the Anfoega Senior High School in Accra.
The celebration is on the theme: “Celebrating 60 Years: The Role of Stakeholders in Providing Quality Education for the 21st Century.”
Some projects earmarked for the commemoration of the 60th Anniversary celebration include face-lifting of the school entrance with fence-wall adjoining the school gate from the opposite end, development of a standard sport complex attached to the fence-wall and a modern Home Economics and ICT Block.
These projects are estimated at GH4,000,000.
The School was born out of vision and sacrifice and its roots dated back to
1965 when Togbe Tepre Hodo III and the good people of Anfoega, with support from the U.S. Embassy in Ghana, established the Anfoega Training College-then known as ANFOECO and it became a secondary school in 1970.
Prof Smile, speaking on behalf of Haruna Iddrisu, the Minister of Education, said access and opportunity must go hand in hand with responsibility.
She said recent reports of indiscipline in some of the Senior High Schools had raised national concerns and the government was taken these issues very seriously.
The Deputy Director-General said the
Ministry was working closely with the Ghana Education Service to implement proactive interventions.
This includes guidance and counseling units, moral education reinforcement, and a reorientation of student leadership structures.
Prof Smile said quality education in the 21st century demanded collaboration, innovation and also demanded that every stakeholder, including the government, alumni, teachers, parents, and students play their part in shaping a system that prepares learners not only for exams but for life.
“As we mark this milestone, let us renew our collective commitment to education
not as a privilege, but as a right and a responsibility,” she added.
She called on stakeholders to commit to building an institution that was not only proud of its past, but boldly marching into the future well equipped, empowered, and enlightened.
She said the story of Anfoega Senior High School was a tapestry woven with determination, dedication, and distinction, from academic achievements to sporting excellence, from cultural prowess to community engagement.
The Deputy Director-General said the institution had raised generations of students who were now contributing meaningfully to national development in
diverse sectors.
She commended the school’s alumni for their enduring love and generous contributions to their alma mater, adding that the success of any school and indeed, the success of the education system rests on a strong partnership between all stakeholders.
Togbe Gidi Yiboe V, the Board Chairman of Anfoesec, said the School was performing well academically, culturally and in social disciplines.
He said whilst the Headmaster and his team of educators continued to do their best to up-lift standards in the school, it was about time “we all rally to contribute our quota to remarkably improve upon the resources of the school, to enable teachers and learners cope up with academic work successfully.”
He said the forum was to enable identifiable stakeholders of the school fit themselves into the Diamond anniversary programme of School, in order that “we salvage it from being stigmatized or described as a challenged or shoddy institution.”
“We need to do our best and help the School to compete with other schools in the region, or in Ghana,” he added.
He urged stakeholders to remember to donate funds and other resources to help the School to be up and inviting to all and perform her role in delivering quality education to her clientele.