Bawku Naba calls for Bawku SHS to be reverted to Azoka SHS

The Zug-Raan Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, Paramount Chief of the Bawku Traditional Area in the Upper East Region is requesting that the Bawku Senior High School (SHS) be restored to its former name, Azoka SHS.

The Bawku SHS started as Azoka Secondary School on October 13, 1963, with a student population of 50 under the tutelage of Mr Yaw Duah Agyemang Dickson of blessed memory.

The school now has a total student population of 2498 and a staff strength of 202 made up of 128 teaching staff and 74 non-teaching staff.

The Chief made the request in a speech delivered on his behalf at the Third Homecoming and Congress of the Bawku SHS Old Students Association (BOSA) on the theme; “Addressing the educational challenges in the midst of COVID-19, the role of alumni.”

He said as the head of the Kusang Traditional Area in which the school was located, “I naturally have interest in the affairs of this premier SHS in Bawku, apart from the fact that I need to follow up on my late father’s special support to this school.”

The Bawku Naba reminded stakeholders at the programme that the school was first named after his father, Azoka I, in recognition of his effort in respect of the acquisition of the land on which the school was cited.

“Many people still prefer to refer to this school as Azoka Secondary School,” Naba Azoka II noted.

The Paramount Chief told leadership and members of BOSA that, “I requested that the old name of the school be restored and I am still awaiting a response. Perhaps your voice in support of this could add more weight for an early and positive response.”

On the theme of the event, he said it was realistic and purposeful, “It shows that you are abreast with the problems of this period and you will deliberate on how best to deal with these issues.”

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the request of the Paramount Chief, the Headmaster of the Bawku SHS, Reverend Sylvester Agalga said, “I think that demand is not out of place. The major stakeholders could look at it. I am comfortable with that.”

Mr Stephen Yakubu, the Upper East Regional Minister in a speech delivered on his behalf, called on BOSA, staff, and students of the school to acknowledge the past Headmasters and teachers of the school whose contributions brought the school thus far.

He said the second and longest Headmaster of the school, Mr Robert Ajene was a living testimony, and was still a mentor to most of them in the public and private sectors who encountered him in life.