The President of the Wassa Amenfi Traditional Area, Tetrete Okuamoah Sekyim II, has urged all stakeholders in the education sector to lend their support to initiatives aimed at enhancing the quality of education in the area. According to him, despite being one of Ghana’s largest and most resource rich territories, contributing significantly to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with its gold and timber, the Wassa Amenfi Traditional Area continues to struggle with its educational infrastructure as it remains critically underdeveloped.
The Paramount Chief, Tetrete Okuamoah Sekyim II, highlighted this disparity at the annual Edim Kesse Festival durbar in Wassa Akropong. He lamented that the lure of lucrative illegal mining, or galamsey, continues to pull children out of classrooms, while the schools themselves lack the basic facilities to compete for their attention.
Renewing his call for a collaborative effort to uplift education, the Chief outlined two critical priorities. He stressed the urgent need to equip every classroom with reliable electricity, internet, and functional science laboratories to prepare students for global competition. He emphasized that investing in modern teacher training is essential. He argued that equipping educators to foster critical thinking, creativity, and resilience will empower the next generation to code, innovate, and contribute meaningfully to Ghana’s development, steering them away from destructive ventures and toward a productive future.
Our youths are the living heartbeat of our tomorrow. They are not passengers in history. They are the architects of our collective future. In this active evolving age, education must not remain static. It must evolve. It must embrace technologies that will empower our children to compete not only within Ghana but on the global stage and it must start now. We cannot be satisfied with our education in words and rhetoric. We must build it in brick, infrastructure and in the human spirit, he said.
The Western Regional Minister, Joseph Nelson, representing the Vice President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang, outlined key educational initiatives at the event. He affirmed the government’s commitment to fulfilling its promises, stating that policies are in place to comprehensively address the challenges facing senior high school students. Furthermore, he announced government support for the establishment of the Amenfi State Training College in Wassa Amenfi.
The theme of this year’s event clearly depicts the decision of the President, John Dramani Mahama and the government to bring transformation into the education sector to benefit learners. In view of this, in a matter of days to come, sod will be cut for the construction of the Amenfi State Training College in the coming weeks, Nelson said. The project, to be located in the Amenfi East Municipality, is expected to significantly expand the region’s educational infrastructure, which currently has only one such college.
Speaking on behalf of his counterparts in Amenfi West and Amenfi Central, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Amenfi East, Raymond Nana Ebbah, announced that the three Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) within the Wassa Amenfi Traditional Council have begun constructing new educational infrastructure in their respective districts. He credited the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) for making these projects possible.
The announcement comes at a time when the Tetrete Foundation, an education oriented non governmental organization, has been actively calling for support to complete the construction of the Amenfi State University College, which has been under construction in the area. In July 2025, officials of the foundation emphasized that the project is crucial for human resource development in the Western Region and Ghana at large.
Tetrete Okuamoah Sekyim II, who is also the Omanhene of the Wassa Amenfi Traditional Area, has consistently championed education as a catalytic tool for human development. The Paramount Chief, who was installed in 2014, has made education a cornerstone of his leadership, regularly calling on stakeholders to invest in the sector and release lands for the construction of educational infrastructure across the region.
The Western Region, despite its abundance of natural resources including gold, timber, and cocoa, has long grappled with educational challenges, particularly in rural and mining communities where the attraction of immediate income from galamsey often outweighs the perceived long term benefits of formal education. Traditional leaders and government officials have increasingly recognized that improving educational infrastructure and making schools more attractive to students is essential for reversing this trend.
The Wassa Amenfi Traditional Area, located in the Western Region, encompasses three administrative districts, Amenfi East, Amenfi West, and Amenfi Central. The area has historically been a significant contributor to Ghana’s mineral wealth but has faced challenges related to illegal mining activities that have degraded the environment and disrupted traditional agricultural and educational pursuits.
Joseph Nelson, who assumed office as Western Regional Minister in February 2025, has been actively engaging with communities across the region to address various developmental challenges, including illegal mining, water infrastructure protection, and education. His participation in the Edim Kesse Festival durbar signals the government’s commitment to partnering with traditional authorities to improve educational outcomes in the region.
The call for improved educational infrastructure in Wassa Amenfi aligns with broader national efforts to enhance the quality of education across Ghana, particularly in rural and resource rich areas where educational development has lagged behind economic extraction activities. The government’s commitment to establishing the Amenfi State Training College represents a significant step toward addressing these disparities and providing more educational opportunities for young people in the area.
