Students of Senior High Schools (SHS) and indeed lovers of interco, received with shock the announcement by the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) that all co-curricular activities in SHSs, would be temporarily suspended.
CHASS, which made the announcement in a resolution at its national executive council (NEC) meeting in Koforidua in the Eastern Region last Thursday, said “Much of the money sent to the schools these days is for perishables, and apart from the fact that it is inadequate for even the feeding of the students, it will equally be misappropriation of funds if we continuously use such money for things it is not intended for”.
According to CHASS, money received by the schools so far was meant for perishables, and that was not even adequate for feeding.
As things stand now, all extracurricular activities, have been put on hold at the SHS level. No interschool, no National Science and Maths quiz etc.
It is pertinent to note that, inter schools has produced many athletes, who have gone on to win laurels for the country. Peoples’ lives have changed through sports.
Sports personalities, such as Abedi Pele, Michael Essien, Asamoah Gyan, Sulley Muntari, Azameti, just to mention a few are product of inter schools.
The primary aim of inter schools, is to provide opportunities for students to get involved, increase participation and help them progress along a ‘sports development continuum’.
In other climes, especially developed nations, like the United States of America (USA), scholarships are awarded to students who excel in sports. They generate the interest early and run with it.
Regrettably, juvenile (colts) football that used to provide breeding grounds for unearthing and nurturing talents has died in recent years. Sports administrators watched as talents wast away and the fight for self-benefit cripple it and deprive our budding talents of opportunities to be spotted by club scouts.
In the considered opinion of this newspaper, the decision to suspend all extracurricular activities, should suffer a still birth, the ministry of Education, must do everything possible not to allow this be the fate of students in SHS.
The students also need to experience what we all experienced when we were in SHS.
