Government urged to consider Mentorship as a support program for the Free SHS Initiative

In their bid to support the government’s effort in line with the Free SHS initiative the Pope John Old Boys Association, POJOBA, organized a Mentorship Program for the Final year students of the alma mater, Pope John Senior High School. The focus of the event was to support and inspire the students to deliver excellent academic performance in the upcoming WASSCE exams.

Mr. Isaac Aboagye Duah, president of the Old Boys Association highlighted the importance the Old Boys Association attaches to the Mentorship program. He spoke of specific examples from the past where such Mentorship engagements led to clear improvements in the academic performance of the students both in school and at the WASSCE exams.  Based on these experiences, Mr. Isaac Duah gave full commitment that the POJOBA Mentorship Program has come to stay, as part of the Association’s Annual Calendar of Events, and strongly urged the Old Boys to come in to support in every possible way they can.

The Global President of KNUST Global Alumni Association, Dr. Kwaku Agbesi, who is also a POJOBA, commented on the visible and palpable impact the program had on the students. He called on the Ministry of Education to explore ways of engaging Mentors World Network to extend this program Nationwide for all senior high schools to benefit. Mentors World Network, the CSR initiative of Lead-it Africa, were the technical partners who designed the structure and content of the 2-day Mentorship Programmed. In a sharp twist, Dr. Agbesi indicated that KNUST Alumni Association shall be working with Lead-it Africa to intensify the Alumni Mentorship Program for KNUST students as they believe such a program will help improve the quality of graduates from the institution.

Dr. Abraham Amankwah, a lecturer at the University of Ghana, and an Old Boy who joined the event to support as a Mentor. He shared some inspiring personal experiences, learning tips, and tips on how to be successful with exams. He finally encouraged the students to make good use of the opportunities offered them by the government through the free SHS program. He remarked that these opportunities were made possible by virtue of government’s commitment to the Free SHS program. He highly commended the government’s efforts and called upon other stakeholders like the Old Boys to come in and contribute their bit towards the growth and development of the students.

In explaining the goals and structure of the program, Dr. Herman Yobo Addae, CEO of Lead-it Africa, and Executive Director of Mentors World Network, indicated that the program is planned and designed to engage the students very early during their first year in school to provide guidance and inspiration. Then to follow up with the Pep Talk session in their final year to inspire them towards excellent performance in their WASSCE exams.

Professor Philip Gorleku, an old Boy and lecturer at the University of Cape Coast Medical school also hailed the program to be very engaging and described it as a powerful conduit for the Old Boys as a Community to contribute positively towards the development of the school and its students. He called for more of the Old Boys to get involved in such activities.

The Headmistress of the school and the several masters who joined to support the program were unanimous in their praise, admiration, and gratitude for what the Old Boys managed to achieve with the students in the 2 days.

In the vote of thanks, the Senior Prefect of the school, Eugene Agyapong, was joined by other prefects and students to express their gratitude and the impact that the interaction with the Old Boys has had on them. He promised on behalf of the entire student body, to be guided by the lessons learned from the program and asked the Old Boys to look forward to a great performance from the school in the upcoming WASSCE exams.

———————————————————————

• The program focused on 3 main GOALS
  • Academic Excellence
  • Career & University choices
  • Social and interpersonal skills

• Structure
  • Friday Evening: Focus Group sessions with Prefects, Sportsmen, Debaters, etc.
  • Saturday
    1. Plenary session on
       • Learning Tips
       • Choice of Vocation & Tertiary Programs / Institutions
    2. Exhibition Booths by Tertiary Institutions
       • KNUST
       • University of Ghana
       • University of Cape Coast
       • Klintaps Health Sciences College
    3. Heart-to-Heart: The Heart-to-Heart session created the opportunity for the Old Boys to speak to the students in smaller groups. The session allowed for more students to be involved in the conversations. It also provided the Old Boys the opportunity to form some good bonds with the students. Majority of the Old Boys committed to stay in touch with the students to offer continued support.