The Presbyterian Boys Secondary School (PRESEC) at Legon has sent an SOS to the government to rescue the school from the scourge of electricity bills which are negatively affecting its operation.
The Headmaster of PRESEC, Mr David Odjidja, said although the government paid all utilities bills of the school, PRESEC used prepaid meters, which meant that the school must pre-finance the bills before reimbursement from the government.
At PRESEC’s 82nd Speech and Prize giving day last Saturday, he said the school spent an average of GH¢30,000 on electricity bills monthly, while the reimbursement from government was released on a quarterly basis.
“Pre-financing electricity consumption is becoming stressful and unsustainable. We are making a special appeal to the Ministry of Education to either restore the school to the postpaid system or have financing arrangement with Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to mitigate the financial stress on the school,” he said.
Mr Odjidja further appealed to the government to provide PRESEC with a school bus to facilitate student activities, explaining that the only bus for the school had broken down and was not road worthy.
Speech and Prize-giving day
The day was organised by the 1995 year group on the theme: “Virtual Education in Ghana: Harnessing and Prospects for National Development”.
Prizes were awarded to deserving students who excelled academically and in other activities during the year.
Special awards were also presented to the team that won PRESEC its sixth championship at this year’s National Science and Math Quiz (NSMQ).
The headmaster described PRESEC as the undisputed king of the NSMQ, a feat the school intended to keep for a long time.
Virtual learning
Mr Odjidja said the COVID-19 brought virtually all academic activities to a halt, a situation he said exposed the country’s overreliance on face-to-face education delivery.
He said PRESEC, with the support of the old boys in UK, purchased a digital system that enabled teachers to continue to teach its students online when the pandemic struck.
“I am happy to report that 2,902 SHS 1& 2 students have so far been enrolled onto the system and SHS1 students are currently having online classes at no cost to parents,” he added.
The Guest Speaker, Dr Senyo Misroame, the Medical Director of the Tantra Community Clinic and an old boy of the school, said virtual education had immense benefits and, therefore, there was the need for concerted efforts to actively integrate it into the country’s educational structure.
“Through virtual education, many rural folks can access quality education without the barriers of access, poor road infrastructure, inadequate teaching/learning materials and lack of teachers,” he said.
The Chairperson for the occasion, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone, Ms Patricia Obo Nai, lauded the team for the honour done to PRESEC and urged the current students to also go all out and retain the title next year.
Source: Graphic.com.gh
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