The Augustine's College in Cape Coast on Saturday launched the Archbishop William Thomas Porter Endowment Fund to facilitate infrastructural development and face-lifting of the college.
Launching the fund in Cape Coast, Mr Kabral Blay Amihere, Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), said the College was among the first catholic schools to be built in the country and has trained a lot of illustrious sons including lawyers, doctors, journalists, politicians and engineers who have and continue to contribute towards the development of the country.
He underscored the importance of education to the socio-economic development of the nation and said the government has a major role to make education affordable and accessible to all Ghanaians as stipulated in article 38 of the constitution.
Mr Amihere, who is an old student of the college, said as much as the government was doing everything to ensure quality education, most mission schools lacked the necessary infrastructure as compared to the time they were being managed by the church and missionaries.
He said the Fund was being launched to get a regular source of funds to help address the numerous problems facing the college and urged all stakeholders particularly, parents, old students and the Catholic church to contribute to the fund, stressing that it was through the efforts of the church that Archbishop Porter was able to establish the college in 1935.
He said the Fund would be used to support needy but brilliant and disciplined students, provide scholarship for outstanding sports boys, procure prizes for best students including WASSCE, as well as support newly recruited teachers with basic accommodation furnishing and provide accommodation for internship and national service teachers.
The fund is also to support newly recruited staff with refundable financial support, provide uniforms and equipment for non-teaching staff as well as equip the college's sick bay, provide teaching and learning material and procure sports equipment.
The fund would in addition be used to undertake general rehabilitation of infrastructure, modernize and develop the school park, put up and expand the college church building and put up staff accommodation.
Mr Amihere called on the Board of Trustees of the Endowment Fund to use the "widow's mite approach" in raising the funds, this he noted would encourage all stakeholders to contribute to the fund.
Most Reverend Mathias Kobina Nketsiah, Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Coast, paid a glowing tribute to the founders of the College and said the facility was synonymous with excellence and urged the students and stakeholders to endeavour to uphold the good name of the college.
Archbishop Nketsiah, who is the Patron of the college, expressed concern about the deterioration of facilities on campus and attributed it to the lack of maintenance and the large student's intake and stressed that the fund was a step in the right direction.
He called on stakeholders particularly, Catholics to contribute to the fund just like how the founders in the past engaged all parishes, deaneries and philanthropists to contribute to the establishment of the college.
He commended the teaching and non-teaching staff for their commitment and dedication to duty which has made the college what it is today.
Mr Joseph Connel, Headmaster, said the college was ranked among the most productive and dynamic Senior High Schools in Ghana and because of that there was high demand for admission among Junior High school graduates thereby putting pressure on the facilities in the college.
He mentioned the lack of adequate residential accommodation for staff, renovation of staff bungalows and rehabilitation of structures, maintenance and improvement of college infrastructure as the challenges facing the college.
Mr Kenneth Ashigbey Managing Director of Graphic Communication Group Ltd, an old student, who presided, said to sustain the fund, it was imperative to establish a permanent secretariat to manage it.
He also called on the nine member board of trustees of the fund to be independent of the college's administration but should have representatives from the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), the College Board and the old Students Association to form a corporate body to effectively manage the Fund.
Mr Ashigbey further suggested that an audit company be engaged to regularly audit and publish the accounts of the fund to attract contributors
Archbishop W.T Porter was born in 1887 at Birkdale, a suburb of Liverpool, England, and upon assumption of office as Bishop of Cape Coast in 1933, he sourced funds from both within and outside the country to establish Saint Augustine College in 1935