St Augustine’s College gets new board of trustees

The reconstituted board of trustees for the St Augustine’s College Endowment Fund was inaugurated in Accra yesterday.

The seven-member board has Dr Ernest Anthony Osei as Chairman, with Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyeman and Dr Edward Ackah-Nyamike Jnr as members.

The other members are Prof. Ernest Kofi Abotsi, Mr Henry Arthur-Gyan, Rev. Fr Patrick Godfred Appiah and Mr Eric Atta-Sonno.

A businessman and politician, Mr Owusu-Agyeman, pledged seed money of $100,000 to the fund.

All year-groups and old students are also to contribute to the fund.

Inauguration

The Archbishop of Cape Coast and Patron of the college, the Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, who inaugurated the board, asked members to see their roles as service to humanity and work hard to sustain the fund.

“I am proud of what you have started; it is a big responsibility and you have to respect your oaths and confidentiality to enable the fund to meet its set objectives. All big schools thrive on the wings of a foundation,” he said, adding that money that came into the fund must be managed judiciously.

“Everybody can contribute something, no matter how small, and with effective management, we can turn the small contributions into a significant amount,” he added.

Concerns

The Most Rev. Palmer-Buckle expressed worry over the fact that the world was getting more secular, with rising anti-religious values.

“That is the mess we find ourselves in. There is the need for holistic education that imparts wisdom, fear of God, love for humanity, self-discipline and obedience.

That is the bedrock of our Catholic education, which is aimed at humanisation and socialisation,” he said.

The patron was happy that on the current West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) league table, there were 11 Catholic schools among the first 20, including the first three, which were all Catholic institutions.

The Most Rev. Palmer-Buckle charged the trustees to do everything possible to make the fund work, saying: “You have all benefited from Catholic education and you must transfer the benefit to others.”

Appreciation

Dr Osei expressed appreciation for the confidence reposed in the members of the board and explained that the essence of the fund was to raise money to cater for the infrastructure development of the school.

He, therefore, entreated all past students and admirers of the college to support the fund to achieve its goal.

Mr Owusu-Agyeman gave an assurance that members would discharge their duties creditably to sustain the fund and also contribute towards the growth of their alma mater.