Apowa (W/R), July 19, GNA - The gender debate took an interesting turn at Apowa, near Takoradi, at the weekend when parents of Saint Mary's Senior Secondary School called for a change of the school's name to Saint Joseph's or Saint John's since it is a boys' school.

They explained that the present name confuses the general public and prospective SSS students who wish to enter the school. The appeal was made at a Parent/Teacher Association meeting held on Saturday at the school.

They emphasised that their wards are sometimes in a dilemma when they are asked about the name of the school and others make fun of them, as attending a female school.

In an address, Mr. P. P. Cann, the Assistant headmaster, noted that he personally had to send some females who selected the school to Sekondi Senior Secondary School (SECKO) since there is no rpt no facility for the number of females who selected the school as their first choice. He, however, explained that the school has trained some females in the past few years.

Mr. Cann informed the parents that to enhance easy payment of fees for the final year students, their bills for the second and third terms would be combined and issued at the end of the first term.

He urged the parents to regularly visit the school to monitor the progress of their wards and to settle their bills early for the smooth running of the school.

The Reverend Joe Atta-Kweku, Chairman of the PTA, assured the parents that the association would discuss their appeal and inform the Catholic church about their request.

He said 11,312,000 cedis had so far been spent on two new staff bungalows, which are now at the lintel level, adding that they would be completed soon. Master Joseph L. Akotey a former student and best student in the Western Region in the 1997 Senior Secondary School Certificate examination, was presented with a sound system and 100,000 cedis by the PTA.

Mr Kojo Edjah, Senior Housemaster of the School, was also presented with a video deck plus 100,000 cedis for winning the regional best teacher award.