The District Chief Executive for Atiwa East Ernest Owusu Ntim has announced that government through the District Assembly intends to convert an abandoned secondary school infrastructure built about 15 years ago for the African Faith Tabernacle Church Headquarters at Anyinam into a modern sports-focused senior high school.
The facility, constructed during the late President John Evans Atta Mills’ administration, when Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo served as Eastern Regional Minister, has been unused for more than a decade.
The DCE said the infrastructure, originally intended for a senior high school that never took off, has now been earmarked for a new purpose in line with President John Dramani Mahama government’s commitment to transforming selected schools across the country into specialised sports development institutions.
“We realised this building has been abandoned for 14–15 years. As a district, we thought it would be better to take it over and restructure everything to develop a new school. We don’t want to go into the normal TVET or traditional secondary school model. We intend to establish the first-of-its-kind Sports Secondary School sponsored by a district or the government,” The Atiwa East DCE Ernest Owusu said.
He explained that engineers and architects are already working on designs that will integrate the existing buildings with new facilities to create a modern sports-oriented educational complex. The Assembly has budgeted GH₵3 million as the initial investment for the project.
The proposed school will focus on Physical Education and talent development while blending academic work with professional sports training, similar to models used in parts of Europe.
“In Europe, they have secondary schools, even primary and junior high schools, that focus on sports while combining academics. We want to pursue the same model, to identify and nurture the best talents while ensuring solid academic grounding,” he added.
The DCE stated that sports has evolved from mere entertainment and recreational activity into a colossal economic contributor stating that sport drives national economies, creates employment, and shapes cultural identity.
Global estimates place the sports economy at approximately two per cent of world GDP, worth more than a trillion dollars.
The DCE said this when speaking during the first International convention of the African Faith Tabernacle Church after four years of leadership disputes.
He described the event as historic, given that the church had gone four years without holding an international convention due to internal litigation over succession to the late Superior Prophet.
“Today is a memorable one. I came to witness and grace the occasion on my own behalf, on behalf of the President, and on behalf of the Regional Minister,” he noted.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
