AngloGold Ashanti School in Obuasi has held its 8th graduation ceremony with a call for more attention to be placed on how the digital revolution can be regulated in the way it is used in the classroom.
Delivering a speech as the chairman of the occasion, the Coordinating Dean of the KNUST Obuasi Campus, Professor Richard Boamah, said the digital revolution holds immeasurable potential but particular attention must be paid to how it is used in education.
He stressed that its used must be for enhance learning experiences and for the wellbeing of students and teachers and not to their detriment.
“We must remember to keep the needs of the learner paramount and note that online teaching or connections are not substitute for the human interaction but to complement it.”
Professor Boamah again talked about the importance of STEM education saying that the current global economy is knowledge based and science driven hence there is a high demand for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and ICT skills.
He said Ghana alone is expected to offer 9 million digital jobs and nearly 4billion dollars in revenue potential by 2030.
In view of this, he said Ghana requires massive infrastructure, social and knowledge capacity development to meet this expectation.
Touching on the theme for the graduation ceremony ‘Shaping tomorrow’s leaders, stepping stones to success’, the Executive Director of the AGA School, Simon Peter Atta Cato, said it resonates with mission and vision of the school as an educational institution.
He said it emphasises the importance of preparing and guiding learners to become future leaders and achieve success in their endeavors.
Academic milestone
Mr. Atta-Cato said the school remains the top performing BECE school in Ashanti Region, a feat they have held since 2019.
He said over the past four years, the school has secured three Presidential awards.
“In 2022, out of 238 candidates who sat for the BECE, 234 achieved distinctions, 80% achieved single digit distinction with our worst grade being 16. An outstanding 99% of our students secured placements in Grade A SHS across Ghana.”
On his part, the Senior Manager Sustainability, AngloGold Ashanti, Emmanuel Baidoo, said education features prominently in AGA’s 10-year Socio-Economic Development Plan which is a blueprint to guide the interventions AGA wants to implement with their stakeholders to facilitate development.
He said AngloGold Ashanti is currently constructing a 9-unit classroom block at Sanso and in the process of cutting sod for the construction of a 24-unit classroom block at Anyinam.
“We are also constructing an examination centre at the Obuasi East District whiles we have also provided text books to schools through the partnership with Otumfuo Foundation.”
The Obuasi Municipal Education Director, George Alfred Koomson, said the AGA School is an embodiment of hardwork, excellence, resilience, discipline in the perspective of a public school.
He said the school has carved a niche for itself as a school of excellence in diverse fields of endeavor including academics, sports, music and culture hence needs to be celebrated.
The Obuasi Municipal Finance Director, Zakaria Yahaya, who represented the Municipal Chief Executive, also lauded AngloGold Ashanti school for their academic achievements over the years.
He said the school has over the years produced people who are contributing in diverse ways towards the development of the country.
About 672 school children who were making different transitions were graduated on the day.
