For 117 years, the Ghana Secondary Technical School (GSTS) has been doing more than preparing students for examinations. Its classrooms have produced generations of professionals who have gone on to take up leadership roles across Ghana and beyond.
That record was on display in Takoradi recently, when generations of “Giants” gathered to mark the school’s 117th Founders’ Day. At GSTS, all former students are proudly known as “Giants,” a name that has come to represent the school’s enduring tradition, identity and fraternity across generations.
The gathering brought together senior professionals, current students, former students and representatives of the Ghana Army, Navy, Air Force, Police and Prisons Service, offering a glimpse of the wide reach of an institution founded in 1909.
The occasion was held on the theme “GSTS @117: Developing Resilient Leaders Through Science, Technology and Character.”
The choice of theme was significant. After more than a century, the school’s story is not only about the professionals it has produced, but also about the kind of people it has sought to develop.
A leadership tradition spanning generations
Delivering the keynote address, Gt. Maj. Gen. Matthew K. Essien (Rtd.) spoke about leadership, resilience and the responsibility of preparing young people to contribute meaningfully to society in an increasingly complex and technology-driven world.
That message captured one of the strongest features of the GSTS story: its alumni have moved into very different areas of national life.
Its products have gone into engineering, mining, telecommunications, medicine, academia, business, technology, governance and the security services. Many have also proceeded to science and technology universities such as KNUST before building careers in their respective fields.
The result is a network of former students spread across institutions and professions that matter to Ghana’s development.
For GSTS, that is part of the legacy being celebrated at 117.
Four alumni, four examples of leadership
The school’s Distinguished Alumni Awards provided a particularly strong illustration.
Four Giants were honoured for their accomplishments, leadership, service and the distinction they have brought to their alma mater:
Gt. Ing. Francis Wouland Tuyee, Gt. Commodore Steve George Obimpeh (Rtd.), Gt. Ing. Seth Ahiekpor and Gt. Prof. Yaw Duodu Yeboah.
Their careers span different areas, but together they tell a larger story about the breadth of leadership emerging from one institution.
Engineering, the military and academia represent very different professional worlds. Yet GSTS has been able to provide a common foundation from which students have gone on to build careers and assume responsibility in those areas.
Gt. Commodore Obimpeh, who spoke on behalf of the award recipients, also reminded the gathering that recognition carries a responsibility to give back, mentor younger generations and continue contributing to society.
That is important because the value of an old school is not only measured by the achievements of its graduates. It is also measured by whether those graduates return to help prepare those coming behind them.
Character as part of leadership
The emphasis on character has remained central to the GSTS tradition.
The Founders’ Day celebration brought together alumni recognised for leadership, philanthropy, volunteering, sports and service, alongside teachers and retired staff who helped shape successive generations.
The Chairman of the occasion, Gt. Prof. Anthony Simons, presided over a gathering that connected the school’s past with its present and future.
The message running through the celebration was that professional success alone does not make a leader.
Discipline, integrity, resilience, service and responsibility are equally important.
That principle was also reflected in the decision to remember former teachers and students who served during the First and Second World Wars, including some who died in service.
The Last Post, minute’s silence and wreath-laying brought the school’s history into the present, reminding today’s students that previous generations were called upon to serve far beyond the classroom.
Leadership beyond the school gates
GSTS’s influence therefore extends well beyond Takoradi.
Its alumni are found in industries and institutions across Ghana, including mining, telecommunications, engineering, education, business and the security services.
That matters for a country that needs capable people to manage institutions, build businesses, develop technology, operate industries and serve in public institutions.
The school’s long history suggests that education can have an impact that lasts well beyond the years a student spends in the classroom.
A student who enters GSTS today may eventually become an engineer, professor, military officer, entrepreneur or senior professional. The journey may take them through universities such as KNUST and into workplaces across Ghana and other parts of the world.
That is the human-capital legacy of an institution that has existed through generations of economic and social change.
What Ghana can learn from GSTS
The GSTS experience raises a wider question about education and nation-building.
What happens when an institution succeeds in developing people who are prepared not only to earn a living, but also to take responsibility?
For 117 years, GSTS has built a tradition around science, technology and character, while its graduates have carried that tradition into different parts of national life.
Its alumni awards, the presence of senior professionals and security personnel at the Founders’ Day celebration, and the recognition of teachers, donors, volunteers and younger Giants all point to the same thing: the institution’s influence is measured by the people it has produced and the responsibilities they have gone on to assume.
That may ultimately be GSTS’s most important contribution to Ghana.
After 117 years, the school is celebrating more than longevity. It is celebrating a leadership pipeline built across generations.
And for Ghana, the lesson is worth examining: strong institutions are not defined only by their buildings or academic results, but by the quality of people they release into society.
