PHOTO: These Two (2) Need Your Help!

The exceptional performance of Mr Adams Abdul Aziz, formerly of Navrongo Senior High School (SHS) and Mr Godfred Owusu, formerly of Koforidua Secondary/Technical Senior High School, in the 2012 West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) may come to naught if they do not get support to continue their tertiary education. The two who scored eight As in their respective programmes in the examination won the Overall Best in the Agriculture and Technical programmes, respectively, in the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) Merit Award. They are the first-ever candidates in the history of the awards to have met the criteria in the two programmes. In spite of their brilliant performance, the two are yet to enter tertiary institutions due to financial difficulties. Mr Owusu is said to have lost his father and had to rely on COCOBOAD to enable him complete the secondary education. Mr Aziz, a native of Hamile in the Upper West Region is from a needy family. This came to light at the Asare-Menako�s Hall, where well wishers who thronged the venue to cheer up this year�s WAEC Merit Award winners were informed that the two students were yet to enter tertiary institutions. The cheers, shouts and applause that characterised the ceremony were suddenly followed by shouts of �Oh no� when the Principal Public Relations Officer of WAEC, Mrs Agnes Teye-Cudjoe, mentioned the names of the two and announced that they were yet to enter a tertiary institution because of financial difficulties and then appealed to the public to support the two financially to enable them to pursue their tertiary education. That was, indeed, an anti-climax for many of those who attended the programme. Commenting on the plight of the two students, the Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Mr Stephen Adu, said unfortunate though it was, there were avenues their parents could explore to get funding for the affected students. He mentioned the GetFUND as one of those numerous avenues and urged parents of the two candidates to formally apply to the fund immediately for scholarship before the tertiary institutions started in September this year. Some of the guests at the function appealed to the Office of the President to intervene to ensure that the two students realised their dreams. It was all applause, shouts and cheers for Yvette Yeboah-Kordieh, formerly of Wesley Girls� Senior High School (SHS); Josebert Ayambire, formerly of Notre Dame SHS and Bright Kwame Seyram Tsevi, formerly of the Keta SHS, for not only picking the first, second and third places, respectively, in the WASSCE in Ghana, but also in the sub-region. They received $300, $250 and $200, respectively, plus a certificate each, while their respective schools received a plaque each for producing a winning student. Miss Yeboah-Kordieh also emerged as the Overall Best Candidate in the General Science programme and for her price, she received $250, a certificate and a plaque for her former school. Miss Sandra Frempong, formerly of Holy Child SHS, broke the age-old jinxs of the inability of candidates to meet the criteria in the Business programme by scoring eight As. She was adjudged winner of the merit award in the Business Programme. Other award winners were Ewuranna Smith Quayson and Belinda, both formerly of Wesley Girls SHS, who won the Overall Best in the Home Economics and Visual Arts programmes, respectively, while Mr Michael Larbi Siaw, formerly of Presec, Legon, won the Overall Best in the General Arts programme. All the individual programme award winners were each given $250 and a certificate, while their respective schools received a plaque each.