Mr Antwi Boasiako Sekyere, the outgoing Eastern Regional Minister, has said the land for the construction of a public university in the region is ready for construction works to begin shortly.

The proposed university for environment and sustainable development in the Eastern Region is in fulfillment of a promise made by President John Dramani Mahama to provide the region with a public university to enable the increasing population to access higher education.

Mr Antwi-Boasiako Sekyere made the remarks at the 58th Anniversary and Speech and Prize-Giving day of Pope John Senior High School and Minor Seminary, at Koforidua.

Mr Sekyere said Parliament had already passed the law for the establishment of the university and the committee set up to develop its curriculum had completed their work.

Mr Sekyere said other interventions in the region such as the construction of 123 Senior High Schools (SHS) out of the 200 promised by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in its manifesto were in progress and classroom blocks and dormitories had been provided for selected SHSs and JHSs in the region, all in efforts to create access to education at all levels.

Mr Sekyere noted the Pope John SHS and Minor Seminary has benefitted from the construction of a 2000-capacity assembly hall and two blocks of four unit teachers bungalow, metal bunker beds, mattresses and dual desks.

The guest speaker of the function, Professor Kojo Ofori of the University of Ghana, called for cooperation among stakeholders to plan for children’s education and their future.

He advised teachers and parents to be role models for their children and also tasked students to take their studies serious to ensure their bright future.
The headmistress of the school, Mrs Benedicta Foli, said Pope John was established in 1958 as a private school with 45 students under the name, St John’s Seminary and College.

It was later renamed Pope John Secondary School and Minor Seminary when it was absolved into the public educational system in 1968.

She said the school had won several awards in both academic and extra-curricular activities including sports.

Mrs Foli said at the 2015 West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), the school scored 100 percent with 92.8 percent of the 639 students presented passing in eight subjects, while Master Isaac Nkansah Osafo, who had eight “As” earned a scholarship to study at a university in Germany.

She, particularly, urged the media to be circumspect in their reportage about the school, as unconfirmed publication about the school created unnecessary panic among parents.

Mrs Foli called for support for the completion of the school’s dining hall, provision of teacher’s bungalows and the resolution of the drainage problem between the school and its neighbours.

As part of the celebration, the 1992 year group presented a 4.8 KW electricity solar system to the school for use at the classroom block and the dining hall to reduce their energy bill.

Deserving students and long serving staff of the school were presented with prizes.