Monday the 14 th of March, we retuned to the same venue as was for Saturday for the observance and prize giving ceremony in commemoration of the 2005 Commonwealth Day celebration. The guest of honour for the occasion was the Ashanti Regional minister Hon S.K. Boafo, who could not make it to the program so delegated the Regional Coordinating Director to represent him.

The program started at about 10:30am with three senior secondary schools, namely Opoku Ware Secondary school, Prempeh College, Yaa Asantewaa Girls Secondary school, and Grace Baptist School, a first cycle institution, totalling about a hundred and fifty students and eight teachers. The opening prayer was given by a student of Yaa Asantewaa Secondary School. The master of ceremonies, Mr. James Ayitey went ahead with the introduction of the chair and co-chair persons for the day. The chair person was 17 year old Sussana Adu of Yaa Asantewaa Girls' Secondary School and 19 year old Abdul Hassan of Prempeh College as the co-chair person.

In her welcome address Susanna said she felt privileged to be made the chair person, and added that the theme of the celebration- Education-Creating Opportunity, Realising Potentials was having a direct impact on her and her fellow students.

The president of the Commonwealth society of Ghana, Mr.C.K Bruce formally welcomed the participants to the day's celebration. In his speech he highlighted on key issues in the Commonwealth and the opportunities available to the youth. He also said that it is the intention of the Commonwealth society of Ghana will help to make the celebration and observance of the Commonwealth day part of the academic calendar of secondary schools.

After the welcome address it was time for the message from the special guest of honour, the Ashanti Regional Minister. In his opening address he emphasised that democracy thrives well in environments in which literacy rates are appreciably high and in light, the theme for the celebration of the day was most appropriate and of much relevance to the Ghanaian society and the entire Commonwealth in improving the lives of its 1.8 billion citizens. He also urged the students to take good advantage of their present levels of education and to make every effort to be of good use to their communities.

Having heard from all it was time to hear the message from the head of the Commonwealth her majesty, the Queen of Britain. The speech was read by Samuel Boateng, a seventeen year old student of Opoku Ware Secondary School. In her message she stated that “the key to unlocking human potential and creating opportunity is education.

Proceedings moved to the presentation of prizes for the debate and quiz competitions. All Prizes were presented by the Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology- Prof. K.A Andam.

The runners up in the debate were each presented with a set of books and five hundred thousand cedi. The winners were presented a set of books and eight hundred thousand cedis. The principal debaters of the winning schools were each given a set of books and a prize of two hundred thousand cedis for the debating team. The cash and book prizes were sponsored by the High commissions in Ghana.

In delivering his key note address the Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology said that without good education one cannot make any meaningful contribution to society. He went on to encouraged the students to take their studies seriously so they can all make it to the university and not to be satisfied with their present level of education.

The day ended with the closing address from the chairperson and a closing prayer from a student of Prempeh College.

Acknowledgement

• African Children's Club
• Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council
• Commonwealth Society of Ghana
• CHRI
• Ashanti Regional Minister
• High Commissions in Ghana

This report was compiled and written by