Sege (Dangme East), March 18, GNA - Master Ayornu Amartey, formerly with the Pediatorkope Junior Secondary School in the Dangme East district was awarded for being the overall best student with aggregate six in the 2005 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the district. Master Amartey, now a first year student at the Ada Senior Secondary School, received 1.5 million cedis, a certificate and assorted books for his prize.

The awards were instituted in 2004 by the Ada Concerned Citizen Forum (ACCF), a non-sectoral and religious organisation for students who performed well in their BECE. They were also to motivate hard working teachers in the district. In all, 14 students, three head-teachers and two teachers, and eight schools received awards totalling 45 million cedis for their outstanding performance. Kuledor JSS received Television set, Computer, Shield and Certificate for producing the best aggregate (97.5 per cent) in the district while Sege JSS received Table Tennis set, Computer and Certificate for producing the highest number of students (65) who qualified for Senior Secondary School. Asafoatse Kerker, Headteacher of Totimekope JSS and Ms Mary Amoah Headmaster 'J' of Kuledor JSS were awarded for being the best basic head and best JSS head in the district respectively. Each of them took home television set and 'The Making of Ada', a history book of Ada people.

Professor Nathan Pecku, Chairman of ACCF Education Committee, said the scope of this year's award was expanded to include JSS and their heads to encourage innovation and hard work among the schools in the district. He said the ACCF was committed to total development, including the provision of social, economic and health facilities in all communities in the Dangme East. He said education was the bedrock of development of every nation and the award was to encourage both teachers and students to put in their best in achieving their targets. Prof. Pecku however, expressed concern that only one student could get aggregate six in the district and called for a consensus effort by well-meaning Ada citizens to assist the schools in both infrastructural and scholarships to raise their status to that of the "so called high ranking schools like Achimota and the rest".

Mrs Evelyn Akweley Nsiah, Operational Audit Manager, World Vision Ghana, called on parents to set their priorities right and support their children in the pursuance of their educational journey. She said education was a valuable tool for development and both the individual and society could not succeed without education and urged teachers to be more committed and dedicated to the development of the children in the district. These, she said, would enable great men and women to emerge from the district to contribute their quota meaningfully to the economy. Mr. Fantevie Yohanne, a graduate from the University of Ghana, Legon and a native of Ada, was also recognised for being the best graduating student in the Sciences for the 2005 academic year.