The Member of Parliament for Tano North in the Ahafo Region, Gideon Boako, has supported 2,031 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) graduates in the constituency with essential educational materials as they prepare to begin Senior High School (SHS) education.
The initiative, which is being implemented for the first time, is aimed at easing the financial burden on parents and guardians and ensuring that financial difficulties do not prevent qualified students from making a smooth transition from basic to secondary education.
Each beneficiary received a chop box, school bag, exercise books and a scientific calculator to augment the items parents are required to provide under their children’s SHS prospectus.
Boako said the gesture was inspired by his personal educational journey and his desire to ensure that no child in Tano North is discouraged from pursuing education because of financial difficulties or their BECE results.
He urged the students not to allow their BECE aggregates or school placement to determine their perception of their future.
“The aggregate you get at the Basic Education Certificate Examination level is not what determines your future. This is just the beginning; it is not the end,” he said.
According to Dr Boako, he himself did not obtain outstanding results at the basic education level and was not admitted to any of the schools he initially selected.
He said he eventually returned to his village to begin his secondary education at Bomar Senior High School, but through determination and the grace of God, he progressed to universities in Ghana and abroad and eventually pursued a master’s degree at Oxford University.
He therefore encouraged the beneficiaries to approach their secondary education with confidence, determination and faith.
“Whatever aggregate they got, whatever school they have been placed at, they should go with full view, trusting God that by determination, they will be able to surmount every single hurdle or challenge they have in life to become who they want to become in the near future,” he said.
‘Parents Are Struggling’
Boako said the financial realities facing many families in the constituency also influenced his decision to introduce the intervention.
He noted that although the Free SHS policy had significantly reduced the cost of secondary education for families, parents were still required to provide several essential items before their children could report to school.
“I know that when it gets to this time, the burden on parents, even in the midst of Free Senior High School education, becomes unbearable,” he said.
He observed that many families in the constituency rely on modest incomes, with teachers, nurses and some government workers constituting a significant portion of those with regular salaries.
Against this background, he said, he felt compelled to use the resources and authority entrusted to him as MP to support families and invest in the education of young people.
“What can I use this authority and resources for to the benefit of my people? Today, by the grace of God, I am so happy that God is using me as the instrument to impact other people’s lives through this gesture,” he said.
He expressed the hope that the intervention would complement the efforts of parents and government and provide the beneficiaries with the basic resources needed to begin their SHS education.
Samira Bawumia Commends Initiative
Former Second Lady, Samira Bawumia, commended Dr Boako for prioritising education and providing practical support to families in the Tano North Constituency.
She said education remained a shared responsibility and stressed that every form of support could make a meaningful difference in a child’s educational journey.
“We are all products of education. We value education. Every support we can lend to our parents and our children is important,” she said.
Bawumia, who highlighted the work of the Samira Empowerment and Humanitarian Projects, said her organisation had also undertaken several interventions to promote education, including its Library in a Box project, through which more than 283,000 books had been distributed to beneficiaries in 113 schools across the country.
She said the organisation also supports students, teachers, lecturers and examiners through programmes designed to strengthen examination and academic performance.
Bawumia urged the beneficiaries to take their education seriously, choose their friends carefully and set clear goals for themselves.
“Don’t let your past define you. Don’t let your current situation define you. Tell yourself you can be anything you want to be. Work hard and success will be yours,” she advised.
She encouraged the students to make good use of the support and strive to make their parents, Tano North and Ghana proud.
The top-performing BECE students in the district also received special cash prizes from Mrs Bawumia.
Education Directorate Pledges to Monitor Students
The Tano North Education Director, Stephen Tia Adams, described the intervention as timely and significant, particularly at a period when many parents were struggling to meet the cost of preparing their children for SHS.
He said some families could potentially be unable to send their children to school because they could not afford the essential items required for admission.
“For an intervention like this, where parents are being assisted to be able to send their wards to senior high school, we think that it is very apt and proper,” he said.
Adams said the support would enable more children from the constituency to report to their respective SHSs and reduce some of the financial pressure on families.
He disclosed that the Education Directorate would also work to monitor the academic progress of the beneficiaries after they entered SHS.
According to him, the initiative would not end with the distribution of the materials, as the education authorities were interested in determining whether the intervention was translating into improved educational outcomes.
“We have also indicated that we will be monitoring their progress at the senior high school level so that we find out what is happening,” he said.
He urged the beneficiaries to study hard and work diligently to ensure that the resources invested in them produced meaningful results.
Beneficiaries Express Gratitude
The beneficiaries, including Benedicta Nyarkowaa Agyekumwaa, Khadijatu Abubakar Ivo and Lordina Dugah Wisdom, expressed appreciation to Dr Boako for the support.
They said the intervention had come at a crucial time, particularly for families struggling to purchase the numerous items required for their children’s transition to SHS.
According to them, the chop boxes, school bags, books and scientific calculators would significantly reduce the financial pressure on their parents and guardians.
They pledged to take their studies seriously, work hard and make good use of the opportunity and support provided to them.
The initiative, according to the MP, is expected to form part of his broader efforts to promote education in Tano North and help create opportunities for young people to progress beyond basic education despite their socio-economic circumstances.
