Students of Ahantaman Girls’ SHS appeal for library complex

Students of Ahantaman Girls’ Senior High School (SHS) in the Western Region have called on the government and corporate bodies to assist them to construct a modern library complex with adequate books.

Ms Sheridan Sam Onuawontoh, the Head Girl of the School, who made the call on behalf of her colleagues, during the school’s 75th Anniversary celebration, said they lacked a modern library facility which was needed to enhance the teaching and learning process in the school.

She said the school’s current library complex was an old classroom block which was converted into a library.

With a student population of 2,728, she indicated that the library could only accommodate 40 students at a particular time.

Ms Onuawontoh noted that “The books currently in stock at the library have gathered so much dust that they are of little relevance for the current technologically inclined students”.

She said the school’s current library did not befit its status after 75 years of its existence.

The Head Girl, therefore, appealed to the government, and corporate individuals and institutions to as a matter of urgency, come to their aid and build a library complex for the school to help promote reading and learning among students, while improving upon their academic performances.

Miss Ernestina Kankam, the Headmistress of the School, emphasized the need for the government and other relevant authorities to assist in providing them with a library complex; saying after 75 years in existence, the school could not boast of a library complex.

She said its absence affected the reading culture among students at the school and appealed to authorities to construct one for them.

“A library complex is a dire need in today’s 21st-century education. Imagine for a moment that Ahantaman Girls’ SHS is fully equipped with a modern library, we would make a much greater impact than we already have without a library”, Ms Kankam added.

Meanwhile, Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, Western Regional Minister, pledged to donate an amount of GHC 50,000 and some bags of cement to begin the construction of a modern library facility.

Other stakeholders, past students and parents of current students, donated some money as part of contributions to support the facility’s construction.

The school’s 75th Anniversary celebration was on the theme: “75 Years of Promoting Discipline as a Tool for STEM Education: The Role of Stakeholders”.