EDUCATION: BIG BOSS MAKES HISTORY WITH HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF GHANA

BIG BOSS MAKES HISTORY WITH HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF GHANA

Edward Adeti’s Report, Winkogo, Upper East, Ghana

  History has zoomed in its rare spotlight on the Bolgatanga Senior High School (BIG BOSS) as all five winners of the maiden episode of a nationwide essay competition organised by the Historical Society of Ghana are proud History students at BIG BOSS. 

The historic feat, which comes as a good stint of icing on the cake following the school’s momentous performance at this year’s West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) and national recognition of two of its teachers at this year’s National Best Teachers Awards, sparked a rapturous scene on the school’s premises amid award presentations and congratulatory messages from Accra-based high-ranking members of the Historical Society of Ghana.

Mr. Noah Ben Azure, a teacher in the school, became winner of the 2011 National Best Science and Mathematics Prize, and Mr. Raymond Issaka, a French Language teacher in the school, took home the Second National Best French Language Teacher this year. In an earlier development, four hundred and fifty-six (456) students among the four hundred and eighty-six (486) candidates from BIG BOSS that sat for the WASSCE this year, representing 93.8%, have qualified for admission into tertiary institutions. Three hundred and sixty-eight (368) candidates excelled in all eight subjects sat for, whilst eighty-eight (88) candidates stood out in seven subjects.

The Historical Society of Ghana had organised a nationwide tour for second-cycle institutions to some historical sites in Ghana last year and subsequently invited reports on the tour from participating students. Over fifty entries from second-cycle schools were received and reviewed by independent jurors at the Historical Society of Ghana. Four girls and one boy from the school (Memuna Awuroh, Eric Kunkuri, Irene Achanga, Apolala A. Priscilla and Zita Naab) were pronounced first to fifth winners in that order. 

Dr. Samuel Ntewusu, a lecturer at the University of Ghana who represented the President of the Society, Professor Irene Odotei, at the awards ceremony said only BIG BOSS met with the essay competition criteria and impressed the jurors because, unlike the other entrants who only narrated what they saw during the tour, the five winners submitted narrative and analytical scripts. “The five winners really proved to the Historical Society of Ghana that they are worthy ambassador and ambassadresses of everyday history. History should not just be narrating what has happened, but also analysing events as they unfold,” Dr. Ntewusu, who is also a member of the Society, pointed out.

He observed that the achievement was made possible by the enabling climate of student discipline and staff commitment in the school and, therefore, urged them to keep the flames of History burning in the school. He also commended the school’s management and its notable History teacher, Mr. Ouedraogo Braimah Dawood, for making History a truly relevant subject in the school’s curricular activities.  

Moments after the ceremony, Dr. Ntewusu told the Daily Dispatch that the award scheme was to motivate history students nationwide to appreciate history and stick to it. He decried the public notion that anyone who pursued History as a career would be jobless in the future, saying that “The view is killing the interest in history-loving youths and robbing them of the sea of opportunities that await any serious-minded history graduate today.”

He said the Historical Society of Ghana, which was established in the 1950s to create a research-based awareness about History and its relevance through publication and teaching, had undergone tests and stages down the decades. It started off with only bankers, politicians and journalists as members; then, it became limited to historians only; it went into oblivion in 1970 during Ghana’s economic downturn; and it resurfaced in 2001, this time with more room for anyone who wants to be a member.

Dr. Ntewusu disclosed that the Society had embarked on an aggressive drive to identify and bring interested individuals on board and help people to understand that “there is a correlation between History and development.”  He hinted that the Society would hold a national conference with policy makers in December, this year, where the inclusion of “everyday history” in the curriculum even at the basic level and the designing of a new history course for the universities would be advocated for.

The Headmaster, Mr. Didacus Afegra, who could not hide his joy over the school’s growing medal collection and improvement in quality and quantity of examination results, commended the winners and his staff for bringing honours to the school. He charged the rest of the student body to emulate the shining example demonstrated by the five winners and cautioned all and sundry against mediocrity and complacency.

Mr. Afegra told newsmen at the close of the award event that the school’s long success story was written by the commitment of the Committee for Discipline, the school’s recommendation reward scheme for committed teachers and the introduction of intramural classes. He particularly lauded the efforts of the school’s Committee for Discipline in promoting, bringing about and sustaining general discipline in the school. And in anticipation of a hundred-percent WASSCE record next year, the Headmaster affirmed with optimism that his tailor had taken strict instructions to sew all-white attire that would look good on him ahead of a planned celebration of next year’s long-desired and much-awaited results.

Memuna Awuroh, foremost winner in the essay contest and prefect in the school, expressed gratitude to the Historical Society of Ghana and school authorities at BIG BOSS for the exposure. In an interview with the Daily Dispatch, she encouraged all students in Ghana to embrace History, adding “I’ve never regretted being a History student and those who have made a happy career out of History, far and near, are living witnesses to the rich diversity of History.”