Ghana Secondary Technical School (GSTS) opened in 1909 as the Accra Government Technical School (AGTS).
Initially, it occupied buildings in what was the premises of the Accountant General’s Department (current site of Kinbu Secondary Technical School).
Governor John Pickersgill Rodger did the opening on 9th August 1909.
That year, the Technical School and a Teacher Training School were opened as full government schools to help with the implementation of the new Rules of the Board of Education.
These new rules made compulsory, combined literary and industrial education in all primary schools, government schools, and government-assisted schools.
The initial mission of AGTS was to train students as artisans for government agencies, and as instructors for schools in the colony. By 1910, the school, now Government Technical School (GTS), offered instruction in carpentry, joinery, and metalwork.
In 1914, the growth and development of the school were interrupted as the buildings it occupied were needed for military use at the outbreak of World War I.
Historians may note that this event might have been the beginning of the school’s long and storied relationship with the military.
In 1915, the school reopened with forty-three (43) students, five (5) less than before its closure.
Some of the staff and students had joined or worked for the military during the shutdown. After a slow start, the population of the school began to increase, and by 1925, there were about 84 students in residence.
Being the only institution of its kind in the Gold Coast, admission to the school became extremely competitive, with only a tiny percentage of the applicants getting admitted.
A plan was put in place to take over the premises of the Training College after its move to Achimota. The proposal included the addition of an extra workshop, a dormitory for student accommodation, and space for additional equipment.
This pattern of increasing student population followed by expansion has repeated itself many times throughout the 110-year history of GSTS.
By 1925, Government Technical School had a Principal, four European Masters, and four African Teachers. One of the European Masters doubled as the school’s Housemaster.
GTS continued its growth through the early 1920s to the mid-1930s. The focus now was to train students to meet the demands of the growing industries in the Gold Coast.
This necessity resulted in significant changes in the curriculum from a three (3)-year course to four (4) years of (practical and theoretical) engineering and woodwork.
The changes included the addition of advanced subjects to prepare students as foremen of works, building inspectors, road overseers, mechanical and electrical supervisors, drafting technicians, broadcast technical assistants, telegraph sub-inspectors, and professional instructors in schools.
At the time, this was the highest form of technical education in the country, and only Government Technical School provided it.
The school had only two departments, a mechanical and electrical engineering department, and carpentry, joinery, and building construction department.
Many of the school’s products were working in the technical institutions around the country, especially in the mines, harbors, railways, Public Work Department, and were performing admirably.
The success of the school’s graduates resulted in many parents wanting to send their children to GTS.
Not only was the school making a name for itself academically, but it was also establishing itself as a school known for its discipline and excellence in sports.
To be Continued….
