We Will Resist Any Attempt to Change Our Name - Headmaster, Bishop Herman College

By Alberto Mario Noretti

Kpando — THE authorities of Bishop Herman College in Kpando have re-affirmed their uncompromising stance to fiercely resist any attempt to change the name of the school in the wake of education reforms.

"We have notified the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to ensure that the name Bishop Herman College and not Bishop Senior High School appears on the certificate of our candidates who sit for the WASSCE", said the headmaster of the college, Mr Mathias Setornyo Attimah

He was speaking at the 66th Speech and Prize Giving Day of the college at the weekend.

The event was under the theme: "66 Years of Impactful Education - The Bishop Herman Story."

Mr Attimah insisted that apart from honouring the founding fathers of the college who named it after a French national in recognition of his outstanding missionary activities in the then Keta Diocese, the name of the college also gave it an identity of academic excellence and a high standard of moral discipline.

The headmaster recalled that the mission of the founding fathers of the college and for that matter the Roman Catholic Church was to translate their vision into reality, through the attainment of educational distinction and its corollary to enable the youth to develop their potentials to become responsible citizens for the nation.

Pursuant to that, he said that discipline was still the hallmark of Bishop Herman College which had never relented in its excellence in academic achievements.

In 2013, for instance, he said that the college topped all the schools in the Volta Region and was ranked 23rd in the country and then in 2016 it made another history with nine candidates scoring A1 in all eight subjects in addition to other laurels.

Mr Attimah said that the total enrolment of the students of the college in the 2017/18 academic year stood at 1,800 and "with the exit of 578 final years students there will be 1,302 students in the third term".

He revealed that that there was no permanent bungalow for the headmaster and that lack of adequate staff bungalows were adversely affecting the progress of the school.

Worse still, he said that the dining hall/kitchen complex which was built more than 40 years ago for only 500 students then, was now crammed with 1,700 students, while the roads network on the campus was nothing to write home about.

In a speech read on his behalf, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, Volta Regional Minister paid tribute to Bishop Herman College for its giant academic strides over the decades.

However, he noted that the over-all performance of the region in the education sector had not been the best in recent times.

"The academic performance of our young ones, especially in the Basic Education Certificate Examinations continues to fall", he added.

Dr Letsa, therefore, urged all stakeholders in the education sector in the region to put their hands on deck and work hard to improve the situation.

The Osie of Avatime, Osie Adza Tekpor VII, an 'old boy' of the college who chaired the function, entreated the students to study diligently towards a bright future.

"The passing of examinations alone will serve no purpose if you do not acquire the moral discipline during your stay here", he reminded them.

Read Full Story