Be disciplined, studious, resilient - Dr Omane Boamah advises Pope John students
The Minister of Defence, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, has advised students of the Pope John Senior High School and Minor Seminary to be resilient, study well and be disciplined while in school.
That, he said, would project and develop them to realise their future dreams of becoming useful citizens tomorrow.
He said it was only discipline, respect, integrity and resilience that would enable them to achieve their fullest potential of becoming doctors, nurses, engineers, teachers, pilots, lawyers, soldiers and bankers, among others.
The minister, who was a 94/96 Sixth Form student batch of the school, advised the 67th anniversary celebrations of the establishment of the school which coincided with the school's Speech and Prize-giving Day as well as the home coming of the old students of the school (POJOBA) at Effiduase in the New Juaben North Municipality of the Eastern Region.
The event with the theme; "POJOSS: The Past, The Present and The Future We Are Building Together", brought together members of academia, district, municipal and regional education directors, headmasters of some senior high schools, government officials, some MDCEs, some MPs, traditional rulers, old students of various year groups, parents and guardians.
Dr Boamah stated that while studying, they must listen to their teachers with humility and be innovative at all times, urging them to make good choices while in school since that would propel and position them to be successful in the future and subsequently secure better leadership positions.
Parents sacrifices
According to the defence minister, since parents and guardians were those who sacrificed for their education, such sacrifices should not be overlooked when they grow, adding that the parents and guardians should be rewarded.
"Pope John made me who I am today, and giving back to my alma mater, which raised me, is a step in the right direction.
This school shaped my story. I owe a great deal to the lessons I learned, as well as to the teachers who believed in me, our headmaster, Rev. Father Vincent Burke of blessed memory, who challenged me to think beyond the textbook at all times,” he told the students.
Dr Boamah reminded them that for students to be successful, they should have a vision to realise their preferred future dreams in the various disciplines such as medicine, nursing, engineering, law, teaching and pharmacy.
Coders programme
On the government's One Million Digital Coders Programme, the defence minister said the programme was about giving young people the tools that they needed to thrive in a digital age with skills in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cybersecurity, Coding, Data analysis and more.
That initiative, Dr Boamah stated, had become the new passport to thrive in this modern era, and that was why the government had rolled out a programme to that effect to embrace one million Ghanaian youth.
Academic performance
For his part, the Headmaster of the school, Very. Rev. Father Benjamin Opoku Ohene said the school's academic performance over the years had been very exciting.
Giving the performances by subjects, he said last year, Social Studies recorded 97.20 per cent as against 95.57 per cent in 2023, Core Mathematics -- 95.09 per cent as against 80.02 per cent in 2023, English Language -- 98.99 per cent as against 96.29 per cent in 2023.
Dormitory project
The headmaster, who dwelt on some issues affecting the school, said a dormitory project attached to a house master's bungalow had been completed, while work on the school's assembly hall was ongoing, which was 70 per cent complete.
Very Rev. Ohene expressed his gratitude to POJOBA, especially Dr Kingsley Agyemang, who had donated furniture to the school.
