The Agriculture Minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has recounted his memorable experience during his secondary school days.

Speaking in an interview with Ayisha Ibrahim on Personality Profile last Friday, the Minister recalled how he and his friend were made to write shortcuts are dangerous 3000 times for outsmarting his sports master during a sporting event.

The Minister explained that he had always complied with school rules and regulations and was never a ‘stubborn’ student except for that moment he tricked his sports master.

“The only thing I did which actually defied regulation was every week we had to go on a long run around the villages of Opoku Ware, Santasi and all those.

"And every time they knew that I would be amongst the last then I had this friend of mine who came up with the idea that but why are they first and we are always last. So we decided that we are going to cut across.

“So when we came back to school the sports master was very surprised that we came out fourth and fifth so he investigated and found out that we cut corners. You know the punishment?

"We were to write 3000 words shortcuts are dangerous overnight. So the whole night we were writing and that was it, I decided I’m not going to break any school rules,” he told Ayisha Ibrahim.

Recalling his days as a Dining Hall prefect in his sixth form, he said “I rather got into trouble with some of the students because when I became a prefect I wanted to make sure everybody complied, I didn’t understand why anybody would want to break the rules.”  

Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto had his secondary education at the Opoku Ware Senior High School and proceeded to the University of Ghana for a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture.

He continued for his post-graduate degree in Agricultural Economics at Cambridge University where he also obtained his Doctorate degree in 1985.