November 12, 2015 marks the Golden Jubilee of Obuasi Secondary Technical School, affectionately known as Asikafor. A grand durbar and an impressive homecoming of former students have been scheduled to mark the day of November 21st.

President John Dramani Mahama, Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and a high-level delegation from the Amansie Traditional Council, on whose grounds the school is located, are invited to honor the occasion.

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From a modest start with 33 boys at the then government secondary technical school under the leadership of its first director, Thomas Baidoo, the science-oriented institution has grown in leaps and bounds to arguably become the one of the best technical institutions in Ghana.

Currently, with a student population of 2,828, which was largely influenced by the educational reforms of the 1990s to accommodate girls, its main function of leading science and technology education appears to have been strengthened with the introduction of the humanities.

With the exception of Visual Arts, the school now offers all graduate-level courses, including a Professional / Technical Program (VOTEC), designed to equip students with the professional skills required to meet workforce needs. country average.

Indeed, by 1970 the first group of Ordinary Level Certificate Examination (O’Level) students had been introduced into the school and by 1977 the school had been granted sixth grade status to operate in parallel. technical and scientific programs.

Obuasi Sec. Tech may not be considered one of the country’s flamboyant second cycle institutions and may not be one of the well-known institutions outside of the Ashanti region.

But just like every institution is unique, Obuasi Secondary Technical can stand up to any institution in Ghana, especially when it comes to producing the best engineers and sports figures in the country.

From universities to medicine, engineering and football in particular, the institution has made a huge contribution to Ghana’s development agenda by providing human resources, most of whom currently hold key positions in critical organizations.

Alumni

For example, in football and under the tutelage of a physical education tutor and currently assistant coach of Premier League champions AshanitGold, Yakubu Mambo Sheriff, the school is proud to produce four of the Black Stars’ key players for the last two FIFA World Cup tournaments in South Africa and Brazil.

Defenders Jonathan Mensah and Daniel Opare, Mubarak Wakasu and Edwin Gyimah, as well as 2010 Africa Cup of Nations silver medalist Opoku Agyemang, are iconic footballers produced by the school.

Providing top athletic men and women is just a glimpse of the accomplishments as at one point mining giant AngloGold Ashanti was ‘smothered’ with at least 150 school products, all of them executives. superiors and engineers.

At the convocation on November 21 to be held on the school’s football field, alumni composed of top and bottom are expected to honor the occasion.

They would include Dr Owusu Ansah, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cape Coast; Professor Daniel Dodoo of the Noguchi Memorial Research Institute; Dr Eugene Atiamo, Director, Construction and Roads Research; Dr John Afriyie, Head of Engineering Department, Kumasi Poly; Dr Solomon Quayeson, pathologist at Korle Bu University Hospital; Dr Anthony Basit from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Dr Andzie Mensah from Efia Nkwanta Hospital.

They would also include Dr Patrick Boakye, Beynat Mission Hospital, Obuasi; Kingsley Kwame Nsiah, Regional Director, Food and Drugs Authority; Dr Paul Amona from UCC; Mr. John Alexander Ackon, Deputy Minister for Women and Children, and former MCE from Obuasi, Owusu Gyambrah.

Achievements

The school has achieved many successes, mainly in the sports field. In 2005, for example, he represented the Ashanti region in the Milo national football competition after conquering zonal and superzonal.

That same year, the school dominated the track and field events in the region and three years later was eliminated in the final of the Milo regional football competition.

Awards

On October 5, 2015, Obuasi Sec Tech was voted the best secondary technical school in the Ashanti region.

Cadet

In 2011, he won first prize in the 4 BN community relations exercises at the region cadet competition.

It should be noted that some of these accomplishments may have been credited perhaps years after BE Godwill, the man widely regarded as the ‘father of the school’, with his deliberate and well-calculated structures that he put in place, left the scene.

Mr. Godwill, who was the principal of the school from 1968 to 1980, literally transformed the school and expanded the infrastructure.

Former school principal Mr. Kwadwo Owusu Akomea told the Daily Graphic that “there is no way to write the history of the school without mentioning Mr. Godwill. He was indeed the father of the school.

Old students

Mr. Godwill’s philosophy seems to have had an impact on alumni even decades after graduating from school. They contributed their quota to the development of the school, including the construction of an infirmary, a sanitary block with a capacity of 12 places and a library complex.

Indeed, the school authorities have been active in the renovation and construction of a number of projects to increase what the alumni have provided.

They include the renovation of the bathrooms and toilets of the five houses, the provision of a multipurpose sports field to enhance sports activities, the construction of an annex kitchen and the renovation of the administrative block.

Challenges

Despite this, the school still faces a number of challenges, the main one being the need for a multi-purpose meeting room and a modern dining room.

Currently, the school has been forced to use a dilapidated dining hall to also serve as a meeting room.

The school also needs accommodation for students, as only a few of them are interns. The increase in the day student population is said to affect academic performance and discipline.

The school is also in urgent need of a large school bus and a functioning library to improve academic work.