President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has commended Ogyeahoho Yaw Gyebi ll, the Paramount Chief of Sefwi Anhwiaso Traditional Area in the Western North Region, for promoting girl child education in the area.

He said educating the girl child was one of the panacea to achieving sustainable development in the country, hence, commended the Ogyeahoho Gybei II, who is also the President of National House of Chiefs, for championing that course.

The President gave the commendation when he addressed the 10th Anniversary and prize giving day celebration of the Queen’s Girls’ Senior High School (SHS), at Sefwi Anhwiaso under the theme: “A decade of impactful girl child education in Western North Region”.

President Akufo-Addo who was the guest of honour indicated that access to quality education for all could not be overlooked, particularly for the girl child in the 21st century educational system, hence the decision to introduce the Free SHS policy by his government.

He encouraged the students to take their studies seriously to justify the introduction of the Free SHS policy, while maintaining the high standards set by their predecessors in the West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

He also advised them to abide by the rules and regulations governing the school so as to grow and become law abiding citizens.

Mrs Evelyn Doris Acquah, the Headmistress of the School, expressed gratitude to Ogyeahoho Gyebi ll for his contributions in lobbying for infrastructural development for the school.

According to her, the school which was established by the Paramount Chief of Sefwi Anhwiaso Traditional Area as a private day school with a total students of five in 2013, now has a students population of 1,000 students.

She mentioned some of the major challenges confronting the school, including an assembly hall, staff bungalows, dormitories, classroom blocks, administration block among others, and appealed to the President to help to resolve such issues to promote smooth teaching and learning.

For his part, Ogyeahoho Gyebi ll, expressed appreciation to President Akufo-Addo for recognizing his efforts in promoting girl child education in his paramountcy, and also for initiating some development projects in Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai Municipality.

He mentioned the construction of science laboratory at Queen SHS, on-going construction of Astro Turf at Anhwiaso, and the construction of Sefwi Anhwiaso town roads.

Others were Bibiani College of Health and Allied Sciences, a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) School at Awaso and the establishment of University of Science and Technology (UMaT) and Bibiani Study Centre as some of the development projects that had been initiated by the government to benefit the people of Sefwi Anhwiaso.

Mr. Opoku Ahweneeh Danquah, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), who chaired the occasion, pledged to collaborate with the Ministry of Education to institute measures to address some of the school's challenges to ensure conducive environment for teaching and learning.

GNA