The Practical Benefits Of Free Senior High Education. The Story Of My Former Teacher In Kete Krachi
I met a young and energetic teacher in my junior school days and due to his discipline and level of intelligence, I started to admire him. Through my admiration brought about close acquaintance.
Teacher Mensah hails from Kete Krachi in the Krachi West Municipal in the Oti Region. He grew up as a very brilliant boy, who sat the then, common entrance examination and passed at the age of 11.
He then got admission to Krachi Senior High school. By age 13, Teacher Mensah’s father could not pay his school fees. This unfortunate incident forced him to learn barbering. So, to cut long stories short, Teacher Mensah had to combine his academic work with barbering business, this includes going to Dambai and Borae to enable him get money for his Secondary education. At the end of the fifth year, he wrote the GCE “O” Level and got Division 2.
His Assistant headmaster, by name, Mr. Kokroko, remarked, when he was giving the results slip to Teacher Mensah”. You are a distinction student, but due to truancy, you got this.” Yes, Teacher Mensah was indeed truant, but not deliberate. It was because he had to go and look for money to pay his fees. Therefore, he attends school twice in 5 days a week.
Teacher Mensah was encouraged by the comments made by the assistant headmaster and went to get distinction at both the teacher training level and diploma at university of Ghana. He further went to do his degree at the same university and obtained a second-class upper division. At the training college level, he soley depended on the student’s allowance for his upkeep. Currently, he’s considered one of the most intelligent and dynamic youth leaders of his time. What are the implications? If teacher Mensah had Free Senior High Education, only God knows where he would have been today. Secondly, but for the students’ allowance, he wouldn’t have completed his teacher’s certificate “A” successfully because he could not combine the barbering and academic work on campus.
Many a student today would have gone through what my teacher experienced, if FSHS wasn’t implemented. The same applies to some of the poor students at the colleges of education. It’s the allowance that supports them. John Mahama kicked against the implementation of the FSHS, he went ahead to cancel teacher and nursing trainees’ allowances. Meanwhile, NDC claims to be social democrats.
All the beautiful and beneficial social interventions in Ghana today, is by the NPP. This and many other compelling reasons make me to reject the second coming of John Mahama and the NDC. Vote for a party that thinks about you today and tomorrow. Don’t go back to a failed president. A word to the voter is enough.
Ben Osei
Former Student
Henkel Memorial J.H.S.
Kete Krachi
