The Headmistress of St Monica’s Senior High School in Asante Mampong, Dr Cynthia Asamoah Gyimah, has made a passionate appeal to the government for infrastructure development to cope with the increasing number of students.
She said there was a need for government intervention to expand the infrastructure of the school to accommodate the current influx of students and to move from the double track to a single-track system.
She said the school needed, in the interim, at least 1,000 classroom desks and 1,000 bunked beds to accommodate the current student population.
Congestion
Speaking at the 79th speech and prize-giving day of the school, Dr Gyimah said the school currently had a student population of 4,300, with the number of freshers being twice the number needed.
Consequently, she appealed to the government to, as a matter of urgency, construct an 18-unit classroom block for the school to accommodate the number of students.
She said the school also needed an assembly hall for the current student population.
She said the school has been using its dining hall as an assembly hall, and this posed challenges to both students and staff.
Dr Gyimah, therefore, called on the Ghana Education Trust Fund to expand the capacity of the yet-to-be constructed 1500 capacity assembly hall to 4000.
For her, “achieving quality education in the 21st century must come with greater sacrifice and commitment by all stakeholders.
“The government has its role, parents and management, students, and all stakeholders have a role to play to achieve the ultimate and impact society,” she said.
Old girls
She expressed her appreciation to the old girls of the school for their continuous support in helping their Alma mater.
She expressed her appreciation to the 1985-year group for building a three-bedroom, fully furnished nurses' quarters to accommodate the school’s nurses, to take care of the health needs of the students.
HIV scourge
The Deputy Presidential Spokesperson, Shamima Muslim, who was the guest of honour, described the increasing number of HIV infections among young people as worrying.
She said it was worrying that while the national figure was going down, new infections among young people were increasing and called for a stronger collaboration for the adoption of actionable sensitivities and protection of young people to safeguard the future of the country.
She, therefore, advised young people, especially students, to be extra vigilant to protect themselves against any sexually transmitted infections, especially HIV.
Stats
Figures from the Ghana AIDS Commission show that in 2024, Ghana recorded 15,529 cases of HIV, a slight decrease from 17,400 recorded in 2023 and 16,574 recorded in 2022.
This year’s Speech and Prize-giving day was on the theme: “Quality Education: Embracing a Dynamic and Holistic Approach for the 21st Century.”
