1978 Old Toms provides GH₵80K ICT lab for alma mater

The 1978 year group of St. Thomas Aquinas Senior High School (SHS), Accra, has provided the school with an ultra-modern ICT lab. The group refurbished and expanded the existing facility and stocked it with modern equipment at an estimated cost in excess of GH₵80,000. Additionally, the 1978 Old Toms donated 21 sets of computers, 21 Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) units, three laptops, a lawn mower and firefighting equipment to the school. Despite the warranties for the items, the group insured the computers and equipment for a period of two years. The gesture was to mark the 40-year anniversary of the group. The two-day celebration was on the theme: “Getting together to project the image of our alma mater”. It was crowned with a mass and thanksgiving ceremony on Saturday, 6 October 2018, when the donations were made to the school. A symposium was also held to provide a platform for the 1978 Old Toms to interact and share their success stories with the students as a way of motivating them. Among the members of the 1978 Old Toms who provided mentorship sessions were: Vice-Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), Professor John Owusu Gyapong; Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Volta River Authority (VRA), Mr Emmanuel Antwi-Darkwa and Dr Bernard Boateng-Duah, CEO of International Maritime Hospital, Tema. President of the 1978 Old Toms and Deputy CEO of VRA, Mr Bernard Kofi Ellis, said Aquinas has helped them a lot by offering them a holistic education to prepare them for life, hence it was important that they also return to provide interventions for the school in order for current and future students to benefit. “Everyone will agree that in modern times, ICT enhances learning and the development of the young ones; that is why we provided the centre,” he said after the consecration and handing over ceremony. He encouraged the teachers to observe a good maintenance culture to ensure that the facility serves students for an extended period of time. CEO of International Maritime Hospital, Dr Bernard Boateng-Duah, also added that: “It is the era of information and technology; whoever has information in modern times is the winner, so, that is why we want to empower our future sons so that they can enter the world fully armed with advanced ICT skills”. He encouraged every year group to take up the challenge of providing some of the needs of the school. For her part, the Headmistress, Mrs Bernice Aduo Addae, expressed gratitude for the gesture by the 1978 year group. She said after a needs assessment, they realised that the ICT lab was too small and had just a few computers and, so, there was the need for an expansion. She commended old students who have constantly been of help to the school by adopting projects and programmes to lift up the name of their alma mater. The headmistress further encouraged all old students to visit the school and provide other interventions that add additional value to the school, since the government cannot meet all their necessities. In view of that, she entreated the Old Toms to undertake more initiatives including the upgrading of the school’s lavatories and construction of an assembly hall or auditorium for the increasing population of students. By David Apinga | 3news.com]]>