By Benjamin Makafui Attipoe, Sogakope
Sogakope Senior High School (SOGASCO) in the South Tongu Municipality of the Volta Region, has inaugurated its reconstituted Board of Governors at a colourful ceremony at the Basketball court of the school.
The event, which was under the distinguished chairmanship of the Paramount Chief of the Sokpoe Traditional Area and President of the Tongu Chiefs’ Union (TCU), Togbega Kadzi Zogah II, also saw a Guard of Honour mounted by the school’s army cadet corps in honour of the Special Guest to the function.
Christened as the Lower Volta Varsity, SOGASCO, as it is popularly known, was established in 1961 as one of the Trust Secondary Schools at the time under the late first President of the country, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah. The school, which began at the time with 261 students, now has a student enrolment of 3,895 with 178 teachers and 72 non-teaching staff.
As part of the inauguration of the reconstituted Board of Governors of the school, the Regional Director of Education, Mr. Francis Yaw Agbemadi inspected an impressive Guard of Honour mounted in his honour by the school’s army cadet corps at the forecourt of the school.
The out-going Board of Governors under the Chairmanship of Mr. Maxwell Amekpor, was commended for recording a number of success stories for the school during their tenure in office. Notable among these achievements were the recording of A1 to C6 in all subjects in the school’s West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), securing a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education equipment for the school, as well as collaborating with the South Tongu Municipal Assembly (STMA) to kick-start the diversion of the access road through the school compound which has posed a great nuisance to the school including security threat to both staff and students over the years.
The new Board of Governors has the former Board Chair, Mr. Maxwell Amekpor now becoming the representative of the Director-General (DG) of the Ghana Education Service (GES) on the Board with Mr. Francis Yaw Agbemadi and Mrs. Celestine S.A. Korsi-Agordo as members being Regional and Municipal Directors of Education respectively. The other members include the Headmaster of SOGASCO, Mr. Newman Henry K. Dziedzoave, Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) Chairman, Torgbui Duklui Attipoe V as well as Mrs. Florence Fianku and Mr. Gilly Ameho both representing the STMA.
Board Members representing the Historical, Traditional and Mission interests are Mr. Edward Keteni and Zikpuitor Awuku Doe Atakli Esq.
The Old Students’ representatives on the Board are Messrs Stephen Dotse Esq and Jonathan Gustav Adomah. Those of the teaching and non-teaching staff are Mr. Richard Kosi Tubah and Ms. Irene Elinam Ehla with Ms. Alice Tanyedzi, Assistant Headmistress, Administration, being the Board Secretary.
Inaugurating the Board, the Regional Director of the GES, Mr. Francis Yaw Agbemadi congratulated the Board Members for accepting to serve SOGASCO in spite of their busy and tight schedules. He reminded them that their appointment has come at a time when Senior High Schools (SHSs) are grappling with a lot of issues including inadequate infrastructural challenges, indiscipline among students including the abuse of hard drugs as well as violence amongst students.
Mr. Agbemadi stressed the need for the Board Members to appraise themselves with their constitution to enable them not only to operate within the law but also discharge their duties and responsibilities effectively and efficiently.
He called for effective collaboration between the Board, management, teachers and students in order to provide a peaceful cohesion for the development of the school.
The out-going Board Chairman of the school, Mr. Maxwell Amekpor expressed great worry about the massive encroachment on the school’s land over the years. According to him, the earlier the problem is resolved, the better, lamenting that the development has become a serious headache for the entire management and Board of Governors of the school.
Mr. Amekpor also lauded the PTA and the Municipal Assembly for their support to the school over the years.
The Sogakope High Court Judge and Paramount Chief of the Dormaa Traditional Area in the Bono Region, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyeman-Badu II who was the Special Guest at the event, swore-in the new Board Members after administering the official oath as well as the oath of secrecy to them.
Addressing the gathering, the Dormaahene lauded the school for its neat and clean environment and pledged his support to the management with some fifty (50) litter bins amongst others to sustain the excellent environmental cleanliness success chalked by the school in recent times.
He was equally worried about the land encroachment story of SOGASCO which has been in court for the past six (6) years and still unresolved. The Dormaahene pledged to use his good offices to assiduously get the matter peacefully resolved.
Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyeman-Badu II commended government for finding a dedicated funding source for the free Senior High School (SHS) policy and reminded the students not only to be disciplined but also seek higher academic laurels in their educational careers.
In his acceptance speech on behalf of the Board, Zikpuitor Awuku Doe Atakli Esq praised the old Board for positively impacting the development of the school in many ways. He pledged the support and commitment of the new Board Members in further uplifting the image of SOGASCO in the coming years.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Hon. Maxwell Kwame Lukutor was full of praise for SOGASCO for continuing to excel in many fields of endeavour including in the academic space.
Mr. Lukutor, whose speech was delivered on his behalf by one of his Special Aids, Mr. Johnson Amedzo, pledged his commitment to continuing to support all efforts at transforming SOGASCO, his alma mater, into an excellent academic environment.
The Municipal Co-ordinating Director, Mr. Setsoafia Kpenu, described the collaboration between the Assembly and SOGASCO as very cordial and exciting and gave the assurance that his outfit would continue to give the needed support to the school to enable it stand on its feet.
The out-going Board Members were appreciated with gifts, parcels and citations for their contributions towards the development of the school during their tenure in office.
The event was witnessed by the entire student body, the some retired educationists, staff and some old students, PTA executives as well as a cross-sections of the general public.