Adidome Senior High School (ADISEC), a renowned educational institution in the Central Tongu District of the Volta Region, is grappling with a severe water crisis that threatens to disrupt four decades of academic excellence.

The school, celebrated for its stellar performance in the National Science and Math Quiz and its pioneering inclusive education programme for visually impaired students, has been disconnected from its water supply over a debt of GHC104,000 owed to the Community Water and Sanitation Agency.

Speaking during the school’s 40th-anniversary celebration on Saturday, headmaster Dr Vincent-Dzidula Kwasi Atiku made a passionate appeal to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for urgent government intervention, describing the situation as an “acute perennial water crisis.”

“The permanent solution will be to give the school a mechanised industrial borehole to avert the high water supply cost,” Dr Atiku said, addressing dignitaries, traditional leaders, and hundreds of alumni who gathered to celebrate the milestone.

Four Decades of Growth Amid Challenges

Founded in 1985 by old students of Adidome E.P. Schools under the leadership of the late Rev. E.K. Titiati, ADISEC started with just seven teachers and 57 students. Today, the school serves 2,092 students, supported by 124 teachers and 43 non-teaching staff.

Despite its remarkable growth, ADISEC continues to battle significant infrastructure deficits. Beyond the water crisis, the school faces deteriorating internal roads, inadequate drainage systems, overcrowded dormitories, insufficient staff accommodation, and a shortage of classroom furniture.

These challenges stand in stark contrast to the school’s impressive academic reputation, including its inclusive education initiative, which since 2008 has integrated visually impaired and sighted students in the same classrooms – a model that has received national recognition.

Celebration and Recognition

The 40th-anniversary celebration, themed “Forty Years of Providing Education in Adidome Senior High School – Achievements, Challenges and Prospects: The Role of Stakeholders,” doubled as a platform to honour excellence and highlight urgent needs.

More than 70 students and teachers were recognised for outstanding academic performance, while the Old Students’ Association presented the school with musical instruments as a sign of their continued support.

A special moment came when the school’s Assembly Hall was officially named in honour of Martin K. Gozah, who served as headmaster from 2015 to 2018.

Calls for Modernisation

Volta Regional Director of Education, Francis Yaw Agbemadi, commended ADISEC for its achievements and urged teachers to embrace 21st-century technological skills to keep pace with modern educational demands.

As ADISEC looks to the future, its leadership hopes that this milestone anniversary will draw attention to the urgent infrastructure needs that must be addressed to ensure the school’s legacy of excellence endures.