THE first year of implementation of the of the tertiary support scheme of the Webb of Excellence awards saw the Fund honouring TWO female students instead of ONE as stated in its criteria.
And the reason? The brilliant performance of the young girls in the 2019 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) simply touched the hearts of members of the Board of Administrators and, unanimously, they decided to extent the financial support to cover the two.
From an initial field of five students, who were shortlisted for the awards – one for General Arts, one for Home Economics, two for Science and one for Business – it turned out that there was very little to choose between the two science students – Juliet Nuerkie Annang and Nyemignor Korkor Okai who scored aggregate 10 and 11 respectively.
Indeed, while Juliet had four A1s – in Core Maths, Elective Maths, Biology and Chemistry – B2 in Physics, Science, Social Studies and C4 in English Language, Nyemignor scored three A1s – in Core Maths, Science and Social Studies – B2 in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and B3 in Elective Maths and English and the Administrators thought it would simply be unfair to pick one and leave out the other.
Not surprisingly, both students have gained admission to the University of Ghana, Legon, where they have been offered the same course – Biological Science.
At the awards ceremony, which was held at a packed assembly hall of the Ada Senior High school on Friday, December 6, 2019, the two girls were widely applauded by both students and teachers of their alma mater as they were decorated with a beautiful sash and handed over a cheque for Ghc2,200 each to settle their Academic User Fee for one year.
According to the terms of the award, the two girls stand to reap further financial support in the subsequent years at the university, provided they obtain a B Average or higher at the end of every year in the course in which they are pursuing.
Even as the students stepped out to say a few words in appreciation of the recognition given to them, the audience was stone silent when one of the winners – Nyemignor Okai – revealed that the occasion was, particularly, momentous for her “because it almost didn’t happen”.
According to her, the choice of Ada Senior High School for her secondary education was not hers but that of her parents. And she resisted coming to the school when she was eventually placed there by the computerized placement system after the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
“For days, I could not stop the tears. I cried day and night because I could not get my first choice school. It took a lot of convincing to eventually get me to pursue my high school course at Ada; and in all that, little did I know that while I was dragging my feet, the good Lord had already prepared a place for me on the 2019 list of award winners of the Webb of Excellence Welfare Fund.
“I am, forever, grateful to everyone – the founder of the award, Ms Eleanor Louise Webb, the administrators headed by Dr Canacoo, the teachers of the school, who inspired me all the way and, particularly, my mum and dad, for all the patience, love and encouragement they showered on me”.
On her part, Juliet Annang also thanked the brains behind the award and pledged to work harder in the years ahead “to justify the trust and confidence reposed in her”.
The chairman of the Board of Administrators of the Fund, Dr Gabriel Ofoe Canacoo, in a short address, urged the students to draw a lot of inspiration from the support extended to Juliet and Nyemignor and study hard to merit the award in future.
The school’s headmaster, Mr Ebenezer Acquaah, was grateful to Miss Webb for instituting the award but appealed that it should be extended to cover the boys.
The occasion was graced by many dignitaries, including the Board chairman, Mr Bernard Busumprah, as well as the parents of the award winners.
