The students of Oriens Complex School participated in an Entrepreneurial Challenge on Friday, June 21st, organized by the school authorities to foster interest and involvement in various vocations among children.
The E-Challenge invited participation from the Kindergarten, Primary, and Junior High Departments. Students chose from areas such as cookery, drink preparation, detergent making, and handicrafts. With guidance from their teachers, they impressed the judges and audience with their hands-on skills, appropriate dress codes, and use of apparatus.
Primary One students formed a company called ‘Basic One Handmade Bags,’ focusing on recycling used clothes, such as jeans and T-shirts, into shopping and dressing bags.
“It is important because when you have clothes that are no longer needed, you can use them to make something useful,” said six-year-old Anastasia Owusu in an interview.
She explained that the E-Challenge inspired her to sew her own handbags to keep her pencils, erasers, and sharpeners, and to make one for church service during her leisure time.
Anastasia added that she would ask her mother not to throw away old clothes anymore because they are now valuable to her.
Junior High School one students also showcased their creativity by building estate houses and artefacts like guns, swords, and toys out of boxes from their homes. Under their teacher’s supervision, they crafted a well-designed real estate model complete with recreational facilities, naming it Forsonate Real Estate.
One of the judges, Mr. Frank Sam, remarked that the program reminded him of his elementary school days when students were equipped with skills to earn a living after graduation, a feature lacking in the current education system.
He emphasized that safety measures, such as protective gear and proper tools, should be in place to support these activities.
The headmaster, Mr. McClean Mensah, stated, “The world is now turning into a business world, so why not start with the children to develop critical thinking minds that can create business ideas? In the new curriculum, there is a subject called Creative Art and Designs. We have incorporated these business ideas, pitching, and advertising into practical activities.”
Discussing the challenges faced by private schools in teaching newly introduced subjects by the Ghana Education Service, such as Creative Art and Designs and Career and Technology, Mr. Mensah noted that providing only the syllabus and schemes of work is insufficient.
He urged the government to support schools with tools, equipment, and materials to help them produce industrious future leaders for Ghana. Moreover, recruiting skilled teachers to handle these technical subjects would significantly improve Ghana’s future economy.