The old students of Tema Methodist Day Senior High School (MEDASS), the PTA and the entire school have launched the school’s 40th-anniversary celebration with a fundraising programme to raise GH¢25 million for a multipurpose school complex.
Held on the theme: ‘Quality infrastructural development for a sustainable and impactful education; the role of stakeholders”, the school holds the view that all stakeholders who value formal education need to pool their resources to provide a befitting school infrastructure to celebrate the years of academic performance MEDASS has registered in the West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
Reverend Solomon Nartey of the Mount Zion Methodist Church, Sakumono, the chairman of the launch and a former SRC President of MEDASS, unveiled the architectural design of the new MEDASS which, he said, is scheduled to be completed in 10 years, when the school celebrates its golden jubilee.
Established in 1983 with 33 students, the school’s current enrolment stands at 1,500 and the number, Juliana Nancy Frimpong (Mrs), the headmistress of the school, explained is putting immense pressure on the limited school infrastructure.
The number, she feared, would increase in the next academic year “and considering the current infrastructure we have, I don’t know how we are going to accommodate the number when it increases.
It is in the light of this that I am happy the old students are leading in the provision of the multi-purpose school complex,” Juliana Nancy Frimpong (Mrs) said in her opening remarks at the gathering.
Identifying himself with the theme, Mariam Akua Dacquah, the Sales and Marketing Manager of Alisa Hotels, on behalf of her Managing Director Kwame Ofosu Bamfo, who was billed as the Guest of Honour, lauded the old students for their initiative, saying without a conducive infrastructure for formal education, students would be deprived of their rights.
“Our business is sited in the same area as the school and we are aware of the infrastructural challenges in the school. We, therefore, give the school GH¢10,000 to support the provision of the new school structure,” Mariam Dacquah ended.
Yves Hanson-Nortey, the MP for Central Tema Constituency, on his part, donated GH¢5,000 towards the construction of the new school building, after he had mentioned a few educational support his office had been able to provide for the second-cycle schools in his area.
He urged the students to study hard and appreciate the learning environment they, fortunately, find themselves in.
“Though your school lacks the needed infrastructure for your studies, that should not make you relent. The government is working hard to ensure that all the schools in the country have their fair share of the need for education. My office will continue to lobby for support for this school,” Mr Yves said.
The Very Reverend Ebenezer Popeson Adjei, Secretary of Synod of the Tema Diocese and a representative of the Bishop of the Tema Methodist Diocese Union called on the government to remember MEDASS in its provision of educational support for schools in the Greater Accra Region.
He said the church is doing its best to grow the school in all facets of life and it would still need the government and corporate organisations to go to its aid.
