Best performing schools in the 2020 National West Africa Secondary Schools Certificate Examination (WASSCE) rankings for the Central Region have been awarded with citation of merit.

The ceremony, which was to motivate hard working teachers, students and their schools, saw seven schools receiving the awards.

Wesley Girls Senior High School (SHS) was adjudged the Best Performing School in the region, followed by St. Augustine's College, and St. Theresa's Seminary at Amisano.

Holy Child School, Ghana National College, Mfantsipim School and Bisease Ajumako SHS, followed in that order.

Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister of Education, said the Government was laying a solid foundation where education would be the driver to transform the socio-economic fortunes of the nation.

That, he said, would in no time help to realise the Ghanaian dream where people would live a fulfilled life.

According to him, the performances of the free SHS graduates indicated that the policy was not a mistake but a necessary intervention, which had come to transform the country.

He said but for the Free Senior High School Policy, many students could not have made it to the secondary school.

Dr Adutwum expressed delight about the performance of the free SHS graduates and said it gave hope for the country.

He commended the students for their hard work and discipline in the schools, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Adutwum advised the students not to decry their present conditions but remain determined, focused, put in extra efforts in their studies and in the end,  success would be their portion.

"You do not have an excuse not to be successful if you are in St. Augustine's College or any of the schools receiving an award here. Train yourself and perceive opportunities to take you far. Study hard and something good will happen to you," he said.

He urged the schools to keep the hard work and maintain their reputation saying the rest of the schools were also aiming to receive awards in the coming years.

Dr Adutwum encouraged the students to take advantage of the free SHS to fulfill the vision of the Ghana beyond Aid.

"Your determination to succeed is what will propel us into that kind of country where our better days will always be ahead of us," Dr Adutwum said.

Madam Martha Owusu Agyemang, the Central Regional Director of the Ghana Education Service (GES), urged the region to maintain its pride as the citadel of education in Ghana.

She was not happy about the region's performance in the recent WASSCE and urged all stakeholders to continue to collaborate to recapture their positions.

Madam Agyemang described the awards scheme as timely, which offered the schools the opportunity to reflect on their achievements and the envisaged successes.

Awards, she noted, encouraged competitive spirit and expressed the hope that it would ginger students to work harder in their academic pursuits and teachers to give of their best.