Speech Day season, alumni pressure, social media oxygen
It appears that by a convention that seemed to have risen from nowhere, the period between November and March has been designated ‘speech day high season’ in this beautiful republic in recent years.
My uneducated guess is that this high season is meant to coincide with the dry season, when it is much safer to hold public events to avoid them being washed out.
Many schools tend to put on a speech day show over a weekend during this period as an annual ritual, whether or not the school itself is marking a landmark anniversary, because increasingly, our schools do not have the funds to host these events every year, and the costs are usually borne by alumni.
Last year, between October and November, Mawuli School, Achimota School, Presec (Legon) and Yaa Asantewaa Girls SHS proudly went to town with their speech day events and literally occupied social media platforms to give us a treat.
In recent weeks, alumnae of St Louis Senior High School, Wesley Girls' High School and St Mary’s Senior High School have treated us to quite some colourful spectacles.
This past weekend, my beloved Opoku Ware School took its turn for its 74th anniversary, while Holy Child School in Cape Coast, which marked its 80th birthday, also put on quite a show.
Next on the bill this weekend is Adisadel College, with St Augustine’s College in the wings.
Increasingly over the years, alumni activity around our senior high schools, particularly the ‘Category A’ ones, seems to have risen to some dizzying proportions, finding expression in a speech day competition of sorts as the climax of a wider homecoming weekend with all manner of events.
Traditionally, the average Ghanaian tends to dock into his or her former senior high school in a more emotive way than say his or her former primary or tertiary institution.
I believe that primarily, this is because our secondary school years, and particularly the boarding system associated with it, tend to coincide with our teenage and most impressionable years and therefore shape us in many ways.
Indeed, in earlier days under the GCE ‘O’ and ‘A’ level system, when a student entered a boarding house around the age of 13 and stayed for five or seven years in one school for their secondary education, the roots went even deeper, and the bond with both school and friends was more enduring.
In recent times, the love has progressed beyond buying alumni car stickers, t-shirts, caps and other paraphernalia to show off, attending funerals and weddings of former schoolmates and networking.
It has evolved into investing significantly in school infrastructure to make up for the shortfall in government investment as our senior high school population rises.
Almost every speech day in town these days includes an anniversary gift from one year group or the other, ranging from the construction of buildings, refurbishment of dilapidated structures and the donation of computers and printers to the supply of classroom furniture, waste bins and lawn mowers, among other things.
Indeed, one can safely say that but for the alumni bodies, most Category A schools, where the pressure is greatest because of huge demand for admission, would have crumbled.
I think Ghanaians are at their philanthropic best when it comes to religious causes and giving back to their former senior high schools.
When one adds into the cauldron the intense emotional investment (which in turn is built on the back of huge financial investment) by alumni groups in inter-school events such as sporting activities and the National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ), one begins to appreciate the serious business of corporate branding and positioning regarding our schools, often within the context of ancient, fiery but healthy rivalries, particularly between schools located in the same enclave.
Social media oxygen
Of course, in all of this, the vehicle of social media has amplified the speech day phenomenon in our schools, with huge investment in the coverage of alumni activities and trends during homecoming to maximise viewership and engagement.
Back in the day of traditional media, speech days in senior high schools received rather basic coverage in the media and hardly made it to the front page of the national dailies or anywhere near the top of the state TV news bulletins, unless it was a landmark anniversary (such as silver, golden, diamond or centenary) and its special guest was the head of state or a high-ranking government official.
In today’s age of citizen journalism, when ordinary citizens shape the news, all this has changed.
Speech day these days is an opportunity to show off one’s school campus and the products of the school, as well as make a positive impression on its young students, and the idea is to trend on social media as much as possible.
It is no wonder that many parents would move heaven and earth to get their children into particular schools, and that demand for spaces in those schools is quite high and very competitive.
While most of these events have been fantastic, admittedly, the ladies tend to have an edge over the gentlemen, who tend to dress up uniformly.
Their variety of glamorous outfits, hairstyles, fascinators and other accessories tends to add a touch of extra colour and vibrancy to the events.
Positive development
On the whole, I think the evolution of speech days in our schools from the staid, limited affairs of old to something more vibrant and exciting has been a fantastic development.
Beyond the critical infrastructure, the schools receive on these occasions and the glamorous and fun clips and still images beamed to us via social media platforms, I think it generally provides students with the opportunity to interact with successful alumni during the mentorship sessions that usually take place during homecoming weekends.
Meeting and interacting with positive role models who invade our campuses every year during homecoming weekends is a big deal for many of these young ones and can help shape their lives in many ways, knowing that these successful professionals, were once like them.
Less-endowed schools
In all of this, one cannot help but spare a thought for the many less-endowed senior high schools, which form the bulk of the over 720 public senior high schools in the country, which have no big-hitting alumni to give back to them by way of infrastructure support or role models to inspire their students to greater heights.
I suppose the alumni of these schools feel like complete outsiders peering into a royal feast from a distance when they come across the alumni extravaganza on social media.
While we drool over the images during this high season of speech days, I believe the state must do more to uplift the less advantaged schools by way of infrastructural support, teaching and learning materials and mentorship programmes.
The children of those schools deserve every opportunity that their brothers and sisters in the top Category A schools have access to.
After all, they are Ghanaian citizens too.
Rodney Nkrumah-Boateng.
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