Leverage Free SHS to turn your destiny around - Dr Boako

The technical advisor and spokesperson to the Vice President, Dr Gideon Boako, has asked students to take advantage of the free senior high school (SHS) programme to become responsible citizens in future.

He said with the successful roll out of the policy, there was no excuse for any Ghanaian child to be denied or refuse education at least up to the SHS level.

He was delivering the keynote address on Friday, 14th February at the 5th Annual Congress of the Old Students Association at the Presbyterian Senior High School (PRESEC) at Bechem in the Ahafo region.

The Old Students Association of the Presbyterian Senior High School is organising its 5th annual Congress to elect executives and raise funds to support the construction of a 150-seater capacity library complex for the school.

Dr. Boako said education is the fulcrum around which the development of individuals, societies and nations revolve. It is the bedrock on which societal evolution rests and as such any nation that does not accord the needed priority and investment to the sector denies itself the unique fruits of sustained growth.

Dr Boako, who was a product of the school observed that investing in education was the best way to fight poverty and therefore government has committed so much resources into ensuring that every Ghanaian child get educated therefore, charged Ghanaians to contribute their quota in the education of their children to enable the children to contribute to the accelerated development of the country.

Dr Boako advised students in the country to learn hard and take advantage of every bit of an opportunity available as a result of free senior high school policy saying, “even though senior high school is free the onus lies on the students to make it high in the academic ladder".

Using his life as an example, he urged the students not to be discouraged by any present challenge confronting them but rather strive hard to achieve a dignified status in life.

“In your present circumstances with free SHS you have no option to go on the path of failure. As a poor boy from Bomaa, if I was able to move from Bomaa Community day Senior High School to become the senior prefect and overall best SSCE candidate at PRESEC in my year group and proceed to do a doctorate degree then you can only be assured that you have a greater chance to excel more than us”, he charged the students.

Dr. Boako further advised the students to be God-fearing and show humility in everything that they do.

He added: “Always bear in mind that in this world nothing good can be done without God... A humble beginning can be springboard and preparation for great impact. Learn to be humble and simple for simplicity of character has never been a hindrance to the subtlety of ones intellect”.

Dr Boako cautioned the students against negative use of social media, he opined that the advent of social media if properly utilised could serve as a medium for intellectual engagement amongst colleagues in other parts of the world and to perform researches in the course of study and not for negative usage like sending nude pictures and uncultured viral videos.

He added Social media has become one of the main channels through which people quickly and regularly interact with others who are physically far away and therefore the students must take advantage of it to enhance their academic work.

Mr Dan Kusi, the President of the Old Students Association, urged other members of the association far and near to come on board to help contribute to the wellbeing of the noble institution.