Tamale Senior High School Explained

Tamale Senior High School
Motto:Fortiter, Fideliter and Feliciter
(Boldly, Faithfully, Successfully)
Location:Education Ridge, Sagnarigu
Streetaddress:P. O. Box 50 E.R Tamale 
Country:Ghana
Status:Active
Schoolboard:Board of Governors
Grades:Forms 1–3 (Grades 10–12)
Gender:Co-ed
Age Range:14 to 18 years
System:Senior High School
Language:English
Nickname:Tamasco
Rivals:Ghana Senior High School (Tamale)

Tamale Senior High School formerly Government Secondary School, Tamale, Gbewaa Secondary School, and more recently Tamale Secondary School is a co-educational second cycle boarding school located at Education Ridge, a suburb of the Sagnarigu Municipality. The school was founded in 1951 by the then British Colonial Authorities as the first second cycle institution of the Northern Territories.[1]

The school is a selective school that grants admissions to students in Ghana based on their results in the Basic Education Certificate Examination, and for students outside Ghana, based on a special entrance examination prepared by the school. Courses offered by the school include; Business, General Science, Home Economics, Technical, General Arts, and Visual Arts.

Tamale senior high school is one of the prestigious senior high schools in Ghana and Northern region in particular. Hence the students refer to the school as the Northern light. Tamale Senior High School is the only senior high that has won the zonal championship twice in a role. Tamale Senior High School is the first and only senior high school in the Northern Region that has qualified for the Semi-final stage in the year 2021 in the National Science and Maths Quiz Competition[2] .

Tamale Senior High School is considered amongst institutions of the highest prestige in Ghana, due to its longstanding history predating independent Ghana, and its prominent alumni.[3] The school can count amongst its ranks; a head of State,  two vice presidents of the fourth republic of Ghana, a speaker of parliament, two Justices of the Supreme Court of Ghana, two Chiefs of Defence Staff, and a host of government ministers and members of parliament.

History

Tamale Senior High School was founded by then British Colonial Administration as Government Secondary School, Tamale in 1951.[4] The school was developed from an already existing middle school called the Tamale Senior Boys School.[5] [6] The school then became the first secondary school in then Northern Territories under the then British Colonial Administration.[7] [8] [9] The main objective of the establishment of the institution amongst others was to mitigate the widening gap of the human resource capacity between the North and the South of the then British Colony. The school throughout its existence has gone through various name changes. In 1972, the name of the school was changed to Gbewaa Secondary School. The name was later changed to Tamale Secondary School and now, Tamale Senior High School.[10]   

Admissions

Tamale Senior High School was originally founded for students in the Northern territories but later opened to students in the south.[11] [12] [13] As a selective school, admissions are based on the results of applicants in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). After the results are released, students gain admission through a computerized system that selects students who chose the school prior to writing their BECE based on their raw score. Due to this, students gain admission solely on merit. For students outside Ghana who want to attend the school, special entrance examinations are organized by the school to accept such students based on merit. After students who qualify are given admission, they are given an official prospectus which will help them know what is required of them as new students of the school.[14] Prior to the introduction of common national entry examinations, students from the Northern territories were selected based on specially prepared examinations on English and Arithmetic. Students who passed were selected by a local selection board and awarded the scholarships.[15] Also, following ongoing pressure and concerted efforts from the Northern Territories Council, both the Colonial Administration and later the Nkrumah Regime established the Special Northern Scholarship Scheme which enabled individuals from the Northern territories, who lacked secondary education but exhibited a strong desire and aptitude for higher studies, to gain admission to the school. These students were subsequently afforded the opportunity to pursue further education at the expense of the Central Government. Some of these students included John S. Nabila who later became Minister for Information and Tourism during the Limann regime.

Student Population

In 1958, the school begun with twenty boys, but enrolled its first cohort of female students by 1958.[16] But as of December 15, 2021, the population of students of Tamale Senior High School was 3,638 with 1,682 females and 1,956 males. which is almost three-fold higher than the previous enrollment figure. The school is gradually reaching a point where it will record 50 percent enrollment for both males and females due to the high demand for the school.[17]

Curriculum and halls of residence

Courses provided by the school at its inception were; English, Mathematics, Science, History, Latin, Geography, Citizenship, Hygiene and Physiology, Agriculture, Music, Arts and Crafts. The Crafts taught were Cloth Weaving, Book Binding, Leather Work and Pottery.[18] Today, courses run by the school include; Business, General Science, Home Economics, Technical, General Arts, and Visual Arts. Students who apply for the school also choose the course they will want to offer prior to writing their BECE examination. The computerized system subsequently places students not only into the school but also into their preferred course.

There are eight halls of residence in the school and they are;

Former Headmasters

1.1960–1964 Mr. Kenneth L. Purser

2. 1964–1967 Mr. B. O. Ayittey[20]

3. 1967–1969 Mr. A. F. Clayton

4. Sept. 1969–1970 Mr. W. A. Ofori

5.1970–1973 Mr. Adu

6. 1973–1980 Alhaji Rahimu Gbadamoshi

7. 1980-1982 Mr Abu Juan

7. 1981–1982 Mr. S. M. Amankwa

8. 1983–1986 Mr. Mahama Adam (AG)

9. 1986–1988 Mr. L. M. Awuni (AG)

10. 1988–1990 Mr. E. K. Kudiabor

11. 1990–1991 Mr. A. A. Daramanu

12. 1991–1998 Mr. Bolina Saaka

13. 1998–2001 Alhaji Amadu Belko

14. Feb. 2001 – Oct. 2001 Mrs. Mary Asobayire Dan-Braimah (AG)

15. Oct. 2001–2004.. Alhaji Mahamadu Saani Abdul-Rahman

16. 2005–2008 Alhaji T. A. Mahama

17. 2004–2005 Mr. J. B. Dakorah

18. 2008–2016 Mr. J. B. Dakorah

19. 2008–2016 Mrs. Mary Asobayire Dan-Braimah

20.2016–ŋun na beni Hajia Amina Musah

21. 2017-2021 Shaibu Adams Wilberforce[21]

22. 2021-2023 Rev Edward Azika

23. 2024 Yakubu Mohammed Mustapha

Alumni

A number of distinguished citizens who have served the world in a variety of positions have been created by the school over the years. Political notables include the President of the 3rd Republic of Ghana, Dr Hilla Limann, the late Former Vice President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, current Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alban Sumani Bagbin, and Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas.[22] Alumni of Tamale Senior High School are those old students who have excelled in their various fields of endeavor. Alumni of the school have played prominent roles in government and public service. Some of these old students are listed below;

Government and politics.

Judges

Academia

Business, banking and finance

Media

Military and police

Religion

Sports

NSMQ Records

See also

References

  1. Book: Aziabah, Maxwell A. . The Politics of Educational Reform in Ghana: Understanding Structural Persistence in the Secondary School System . 2018-07-09 . Springer . 978-3-319-93761-8 . en.
  2. Web site: nordzi . vanessa . 2023-10-17 . NSMQ2023: Pope John secures Semi-final spot! . 2024-08-03 . NSMQ Ghana . en.
  3. Book: George, Betty Grace Stein. Education in Ghana. 1976. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education. en.
  4. Web site: Tamale Secondary School and 60 years of secondary education in northern Ghana - MyJoyOnline.com . 2021-05-06 . MyJoyonline. . en-US.
  5. Book: Bierschenk . Thomas . States at Work: Dynamics of African Bureaucracies . Sardan . Jean-Pierre Olivier de . 2014-01-30 . BRILL . 978-90-04-26496-0 . en.
  6. Book: Lentz . Carola . Imagining Futures: Memory and Belonging in an African Family . Lobnibe . Isidore . 2022-05-03 . Indiana University Press . 978-0-253-06018-1 . en.
  7. MacGaffey. Wyatt. A History of Tamale, 1907-1957 and Beyond. 2006. Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana. 10. 109–124. 41406735. 0855-3246.
  8. Book: Guiana, Great Britain Mission of United Kingdom Industrialists to Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados and British . Industrial Development in Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados and British Guiana: Report . 1953 . H.M. Stationery Office . en.
  9. Book: Identity, Rationality, and the Post-colonial Subject: African Perspectives on Contemporary Social Theory . 1991 . Columbia University, Institute of African Studies . en.
  10. Book: Steinberg, S. . The Statesman's Year-Book: Statistical and Historical Annual of the States of the World for the Year 1957 . 2016-12-28 . Springer . 978-0-230-27086-2 . en.
  11. Book: Report by His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the General Assembly of the United Nations on the Administration of Togoland Under United Kingdom Trusteeship . 1954 . H.M. Stationery Office . en.
  12. Book: Government, Great Britain . Report by Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the General Assembly of the United Nations on Togoland under United Kingdom administration . 1954 . en.
  13. Book: Foster, P. . Education and Social Change in Ghana . 2013-08-21 . Routledge . 978-1-136-23510-8 . en.
  14. Web site: Tamale Senior High SchoolsInGh.com. 2021-05-06. schoolsInGh. en.
  15. Book: Ghana Today . 1957 . Information Section of the Ghana Office . en.
  16. Web site: 2021-12-13 . TAMASCO @70: President Akufo-Addo announces plans to expand Free SHS to cover Tech. & Vocational Education . 2024-03-11 . en-US.
  17. Web site: Awal . Mohammed . 2021-12-15 . Tamale Senior High School celebrates 70th anniversary with call for increased investment in education . 2024-03-11 . The Business & Financial Times . en-GB.
  18. Book: Office, Great Britain Colonial. Report by Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the General Assembly of the United Nations on the Administration of Togoland Under United Kingdom Trusteeship for the Year 1953. 1954. H.M. Stationery Office. en.
  19. Web site: 2021-06-26. Tamale Senior High school names new Dormitory block 'Bawumia House'. 2021-07-31. GhanaWeb. en.
  20. Book: Agyeman, Eddie . Daily Graphic: Issue 5,840 July 11 1969 . 1969-07-11 . Graphic Communications Group . en.
  21. Web site: 2018-09-13 . Put all your bad behavior behind before stepping foot in my school-TAMASCO head warns fresh students . 2024-07-13 . Zaa Radio 99.3 FM . en-GB.
  22. Web site: 2021-12-13 . TAMASCO @70: President Akufo-Addo announces plans to expand Free SHS to cover Tech. & Vocational Education . 2024-03-11 . en-US.
  23. Book: West Africa . August 2000 . West Africa Publishing Company Limited . en.
  24. Web site: 2020-10-07. Vice President Dr. Bawumia turns 57 today. 2021-05-06. Pulse Ghana. en.
  25. Web site: Quist . Ebenezer . 2020-05-21 . Old teacher of Bawumia drops childhood photo of veep acting as lawyer in primary . 2021-05-06 . Yen- Ghana news. . en.
  26. Web site: The meteoric rise of Vice-President Bawumia from political novice to national asset. 2021-05-06. Graphic Online. en-gb.
  27. Web site: Profile of Alban Sumani Bagbin - MyJoyOnline.com . 2021-05-06 . Myjoyonline. . en-US.
  28. Web site: Otiko Djaba: A true politician. 2021-05-06. Graphic Online. en-gb.
  29. Book: Mahama, Ibrahim . Ethnic Conflicts in Northern Ghana . 2003 . Cyber Systems . 978-9988-611-09-5 . en.
  30. Web site: 2017-01-11. Ursula for Communications, Otiko for Gender, Social Protection. 2021-05-06. Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always. en-US.
  31. Web site: 2018-09-11. What does Mustapha Hamid brings on board as Zongo Minister?. 2021-05-06. Pulse Ghana. en.
  32. Book: Forschungsinstitut, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung . African Biographies . 1971 . Verlag Neue Gesellschaft . en.
  33. Book: Bawumia, Mumuni . A Life in the Political History of Ghana: Memoirs of Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia . 2004 . Ghana Universities Press . 978-9964-3-0335-8 . en.
  34. Web site: Edward Mahama; a farmer, physician and politician. 2021-05-06. Graphic Online. en-gb.
  35. Web site: myadmin . 2016-04-05 . Know about Dr Issahaku – the new Bank of Ghana Governor . 2021-05-06 . Ghana Business News . en-US.
  36. Web site: Online . Peace FM . Ibrahim Mahama Spotted In Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG . 2021-05-06 . Peacefmonline - Ghana news.
  37. Web site: Tamasco tramples on Adisco, Kumaca into NSMQ semi-final - MyJoyOnline.com . 2021-11-23 . Myjoyonline . en-US.

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