AWOPEDEC Social School, a fee-free Primary and Junior High School at Tsui Bleo in the Teshie area, has launched its 15th Anniversary Celebration at a ceremony in Accra, with a call on all stakeholders to be involved in educating every child of school going age.
With the theme, “Educating for Ghana’s Future, Whose Role? What Role?” the year-long celebration would be climaxed by a special event in September this year, after series of programmes.
Speaking at the launch of the launch, the Special Guest, Mr. Churchil Darlington, Head, Juvenile Detention Centre, Osu, challenged politicians, parents and society as a whole to take the education of children very serious to forestall the incidence of delinquency among them.
He bemoaned the situation where children are seen loitering around during school hours without any concern from parents and other adults, who have a responsibility towards them, commending the Proprietress of the School for offering the opportunity to less-privileged children in the area to be educated.
Mr. Darlington explained that, the number of children who become a burden on society as a result of their involvement in vices such as drug abuse and armed robbery, can be reduced if the education of the child becomes the role of all, not only the political leadership.
For his part, Mr. Justice Eddie Quainoo, a lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and the University of Ghana, commended the management of the school for the tremendous role in shaping the destiny of pupils who would otherwise have become social miscreants.
He called for support from all stakeholders in education to ensure that AWOPEDEC Social School continues to offer education to those who cannot afford it.
Madam Edwina Okuadjo, Proprietress of AWOPEDEC Social School, recounted that the vision to offer free education to the children in the school’s catchment area was born some fifteen years ago when, on her campaign trail to become Assembly Woman, she chanced on several children whose reason for not going to school was lack of money.
She, therefore, took it upon herself to set up the school to offer such children the privilege to get educated in order to be useful to society. Pupils of the school do not pay tuition fees; they only pay for feeding. Madam Okuadjo called on parents in the area to stop hiding behind the excuse of lack of money to keep the children away from school since AWOPEDEC has the panacea to that problem.
She announced that programmes lined up for the anniversary include homecoming for past students, excursion to some educative sites, among others.
She was later joined by the special guests to launch the anniversary cloth to be used during the celebration.
The school’s Cadet mounted a guard of honor, whilst the drama group put up a performance to highlight the importance of education.
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