The Deputy Minister of Education, Rev Ntim Fordjour, has announced government's intention to roll out an initiative geared towards completing efforts to improve educational standards in the country. 

The Community of Excellence Policy would enhance literacy among children and ensure continuity of access to education of the younger generation.

He was speaking at a ceremony to celebrate the absorption of the Ziavi  Senior High Technical School in Ziavi Dzogbe in the Volta Region. 

He lauded the community's efforts towards ensuring access to education, indicating it conforms with the President's vision of ensuring education touches base in every community in the country.

“I am most impressed and gladdened by the collective support of the chiefs, stakeholders, the community; it stands in perfectly with the vision of the President, which will soon be exploring the Community of Excellence.”

“In this vision, we are going to envision a community where 90% of our children at the age of 10 will be able to read and write meaningfully, where 90% of our children will be able to progress from JHS to SHS and where 90% of our children will be able to transition from SHS to the tertiary very meaningfully”, he explained. 

Identifying education as a driver for development, the paramount chief of Ziavi Traditional Area, Togbega Ayim Kwaku IV, initiated a move to establish a second-cycle school in the area. 

The Ziavi Senior High Technical School was subsequently established in 2014 with four students. It now has 207 and runs four academic programs. 

The community financed the administration and development of the school within the last seven years, led by the Dutorfia of Ziavi Dzogbe, Togbe Adza Nye IV until it was absorbed into the public schools' system in January 2021. 

Addressing the gathering, Togbega Ayim IV appealed for the construction of a boarding facility, school bus, and completion of the two-story GETfund project. 

He also advocated the formulation of a national policy to guide the punishment of males who will impregnate female students.

Togbega suggested that 40% of the salaries of males who impregnate students should be allocated to their victims for upkeep, while they return to school to continue their education. 

The Chief of Staff at the Presidency, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, underscored the role of the free SHS policy in ensuring equal access to education. 

She explained that the policy has made it possible for females who would have been sacrificed for the education of their male counterparts to have access to education. 

“Today the citizens of Ziavi Traditional area also stand to benefit from the laudable initiative of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the students of ZISTECH will also benefit enormously from the FREE SHS Policy as introduced by the President of the Republic.”

“I am very much optimistic that this will take the stress of looking for school fees to concentrating on their books for better performance”, she said. 

“In much the same way, the absorption of ZISTECH into the FREE SHS Policy holds lots of prospects for the local economy of the Ziavi traditional area and its environs.”

She further indicated that “as a matter of fact, my commitment towards facilitating the absorption of ZISTECH into the mainstream FREE SHS system was not only based on the educational prospects for our dear children but also the local economic development that stands to be created for Ziavi.”

The Volta Regional Minister, Dr. Archibald Letsa, announced that the government has approved the establishment of an ICT center for the school adding a vocational second cycle institute that would soon be established in Klefe, his hometown, which is about five minutes drive from Ziavi. 

The Dutorfia of Ziavi Dzogbe, Togbe Adza Nye IV, explained that realizing the role education played in his life, he decided to commit resources towards the development of the school.

Togbe Adza Nye IV, who is the immediate past Chief Executive officer of the Ghana Oil Company added that the free SHS policy introduced by the government also triggered the community to establish the school to enable children of Ziavi to benefit immensely from the policy. 

He had paid the salaries of teachers who volunteered to teach in the school within the last seven years and provided the requisite educational logistics to ensure a smooth administration of the Ziavi Senior High Technical School. 

He recently furnished the school with 200 sets of tables and chairs and is willing to do more to ensure the students receive the best of training.