Oriens Complex School, a basic school located at American Farm in Ngleshie Amanfro in the Ga South Municipality of the Greater Accra Region, has organized an Entrepreneurial challenge for the children.

The event was aimed at developing and sustaining entrepreneurial spirit in children and also focused on various vocations including E-challenge.

The E-Challenge saw participation from the Kindergarten, primary and Junior High Departments.

Cookery art, Drink preparation, Detergent making, and handicrafts among others were the topical areas given to students to choose from. With the guidance of the teachers, the children thrilled the judges and audience with their hands-on skills, dress codes and apparatus.

‘Basic One Handmade Bags’ was the company name of primary one pupils and they majored in recycling used clothes such as jean trousers, round-neck shirts and others into shopping bags and dressing bags.

"Our madam brought her used clothes to school and we can use them for so many things," said Anastasia Owusu, a 6-year-old pupil of Oriens Complex School.

She further stated that the E-Challenge has stirred her up to sew her handbags to keep her pencils, erasers and sharpeners and also make one for church service at her leisure with thread and needle.

An enlightened Anastasia Owusu said she would tell her mother not to throw away her old clothes anymore since the programme has helped her discover the usefulness of used clothes.
The JHS 1 students also built an estate house and items like guns, swords, toys and more out of boxes they brought from their various homes.

Their estate name was Forsonate Real Estate.

One of the judges on the panel, Mr Frank Sam, remarked that the programme brought memories of his days in Elementary school now JHS, where graduates acquired skills and could gain meaningful employment unlike now.

The headmaster of the school, Mr Mcclean Mensah said, "The world is now turning into a business world, why don’t we start with the children so they can have critical-thinking minds that can create business ideas.

Secondly, in the new curriculum, there is a subject called Creative Art and Designs. So we crafted it in such a way that all these business ideas, pitching and how to advertise the company and how to design the logo, we moved them unto the practical stage."

Commenting on the challenges they face as a private school in teaching the newly introduced subjects by the Ghana Education Service (GES) such as Creative Art and Designs and Career & Technology, the headmaster said the provision of just syllabus and adopted schemes of work are simply not enough.

He wants the government to also support schools with equipment and materials to enable them to contribute their best to produce industrious future leaders for Ghana.
He was of the view that recruiting skilled teachers to handle these highly technical subjects would spearhead Ghana's development.