ABOUT 150 years ago, the Basel missionaries extended their activities to the Krobo area, to be precise, Odumase Krobo, the traditional capital.
The main aim of the missionaries was first to convert the indigenous people, adherents of traditional practices to Christianity as a result of which a large segment of the population became Christians.
The second objective which was to introduce formal education to enable the new converts to read and understand the Bible started with the establishment of primary schools in the area in the 1920s.
Realising that education at the secondary level had the potential of totally transforming the living standards of the people, the Basel missionaries in the late 1930s came up with the idea of a grammar school which was whole-heartedly supported by the traditional rulers under the leadership of the Konor (Paramount Chief).
The Konor and his courtiers readily made land available, near the premises of the palace where the school, the Presbyterian Boys Secondary School, was finally established and the students, apart from going through the normal academic programme, were also introduced to the strict Presbyterian doctrine and discipline.
Especially children of the chiefs and elders got enrolled in the school.
Other beneficiaries were students from all parts of the country who rushed to the school due to its laudable achievement in producing disciplined scholars most of whom climbed the academic ladder to tertiary institutions and came out as professionals in various fields such as medicine, education, law, religion and engineering.
Such academic successes chalked up by the school, coupled with the quality of its products, made PRESEC as it was popularly known, a household name not only in the Krobo area but the country as a whole.
However, at a time that the school was making tremendous impact on the people with the consequent transformation of the area, a decision was made to relocate it to Legon, near Accra.
The relocation was mainly due to limited space for additional infrastructure to cater for its ever increasing number of students.
But to ensure that the relocation would not negatively affect students in the area most of whose parents could hardly finance their education outside the area, the traditional rulers led by the late Konor, Oklemekuku Azu Mate Korle II however, acted swiftly by establishing a new school at Nuaso, about three kilometres away as a replacement.
The school, christened the Manya Krobo Secondary School (MAKROSEC) started modestly in September 1968 in dilapidated buildings of the Basel Mission (now property of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana) with Rev S.K. Aboa as its first headmaster.
It was initially a boys’ educational institution with a dual academic programme, offering courses in teacher training with 18 students and a secondary (grammar) school which had a single student.
On July 14, 1969, the Training College Department was scrapped and all 39 students on admission at the time were transferred to the Adukrom Training College on the Akuapem Scarp.
In September 1971, the school became co-educational and shifted to its present spacious premises at Nuaso.
As a new school, it encountered the teething problem of inadequate and proper infrastructure such as dormitories, classrooms and other facilities and logistics.
Such a situation compelled the school authorities to use one of the blocks for classrooms and administration while the visual arts building was used as dormitories for the girls.
The school also had no reliable means of transport to convey students on educational tours as well as other services because the only truck donated by the VALCO Fund about 40 years ago could not go on such trips.
There was also virtually no residential accommodation for staff and the headmaster had to share such a facility on the compound with other items of the school such as lorry tyres and wheelbarrows packed in front of the hall and other parts of the facility.
Despite these challenges, the school over the years made significant academic gains in addition to successes in sports, quizzes and other extracurricular activities.
For instance the school which now has a student population of 1,200 out of which 800 are boarders and witnessed an increase of final-year students from 127 in 1999 to 327 in 2005, recorded passes in the final examinations ranging from 85 per cent in 1999 to 100 per cent in 2005. The results for 2006, 2007 and 2008 have also been very good.
It is therefore not surprising that MAKROSEC, just like its predecessor, PRESEC, has had many of its products getting into the universities and other professional and tertiary institutions to come out as highly trained professionals who are also found in all sectors of the country.
Some of these distinguished professionals are Professor Samuel Offei and Dr Kwaku Dawson, dean and lecturer respectively of the School of Agriculture, University of Ghana, Legon; Dr Martin Tamatey of the Cardio-Thoracic Centre of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Mr Vance Azu, a journalist with The Mirror, the country’s leading weekend newspaper and Messrs Sam Frederick and Joe Muno, both well-known businessmen.
Such a significant achievement of the school is due to the able manner the headmasters administered it.
They were the Reverend S.K. Aboah, the first headmaster who was at post between 1968 and 1973; J.N. Antwi, 1973-74; S.K. Afari, 1974-1977; E.L. Chapman, January 1977 - August 1977; H.D. Narh, 1977-81; A.N.Tetteh, 1981-94, Reverend S. Peprah Yeboah, 1994-2004; C. C. Amenga Etego, Jan 2004 - March 2004 and E. N. Sackitey, 2004 to date.
Although all the headmasters did their best in raising the academic status of the school, the contributions of Reverend Aboah, the first headmaster who, despite the numerous problems the school faced in its initial stages managed it and the present one, E.N. Sackitey who was able to improve on the academic performance of the students at a time that infrastructural amenities could hardly match its ever increasing population, make the two educationists stand tall among their colleagues.
Speaking at the school’s 40th anniversary which was recently marked on the school premises, Mr Sackitey said the numerous challenges especially inadequate infrastructure did not, however, deter the tutors and students to put in their best.
He said although the authorities had decided to address the infrastructural problem, construction work on a GH¢120,000 complex to house a computer laboratory and staff common room being funded by the government through the district assembly which started three years ago had come to a standstill.
Another project which has almost been abandoned is an administrative block being funded by the African Development Bank through the Presidential Initiative.
“We do not have the necessary amenities but we are doing well. For instance, we have been able to guide students, particularly those admitted from deprived junior high schools in the area with not-too-good grades at the BECE, to also enter the universities and other tertiary educational and professional institutions”, Mr Sackitey said.
Although Mr Sackitey and his staff have improved the school’s academic performance to place it as one of the best in the region, the performance of the students in the future would depend on the dedication and commitment of the next headmaster who would take over from the educationist, who would be retiring this month.
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