The Leadership Academy has closed its first cohort with a colourful ceremony held at Nyansa Square in East Legon on Saturday,15 August 2026.
Twenty school leaders were part of the cohort, which spent eight weeks in training under a programme delivered in partnership by afiDE Ghana and GSET. The closing ceremony, which ran from 8am to 5pm, brought together facilitators, mentors and partners from both organisations to mark the end of the journey.
Emmanuel Sefadzi, the Digital Education Trainer for afiDE Ghana, who served as master of ceremonies, opened the programme with welcome remarks and introduced the guests present. He then took participants through a recap of the eight-week journey, reminding them of how far they had come since the programme began. Nicole Odudu who is the Digital Education Manager for afiDE Ghana, during the opening of the program, used the opportunity to introduce the school leaders to afiDE Ghana’s new General Manager, Mr. Eric Kwesi Oppong.
Professor George Kweku Toku Oduro, a prominent Ghanaian Educational Leader, former Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), the Technical Advisor to Ghana’s Minister of Education and the Patron of the Leadership Academy, delivered an address in which he commended the team behind the programme for their work. He said he was proud of what had been achieved and expressed hope to advise the Minister of Education on rolling out the programme on a full, national scale.
He noted that The Leadership Academy occupies a unique space in the education sector, pointing out that most programmes target students or teachers, while this one is designed specifically for school leaders. He added that the public should expect registration for Cohort Two to open in due course, and that afiDE Ghana remains ready to welcome any school into its community that wishes to embrace sustainable digital education. He rounded off his remarks with a pledge of his continued support to afiDE Ghana and GSET.
Joshua Kwesi Tetteh, who represented the facilitators from GSET, joined the ceremony online to deliver his remarks. He thanked afiDE Ghana, GSET, mentors and the participants for coming together to empower teachers across the country.
Four mentors attached to The Leadership Academy were also present at the ceremony, and Mr Selasie Tettey, a mentor on the programme and Proprietor of Acropolis Maranatha Academy, spoke on behalf of all four. He thanked the participants, afiDE Ghana, GSET and his fellow mentors for what he described as an impactful training aimed at school leaders in Ghana.
With the recap complete, attention turned to the main business of the day: the participants’ presentations. Some of the school leaders took turns to present their Digital School Strategy before an assessment panel, with each presenter given 15 minutes to make their case. Emmanuel Sefadzi managed a visible timer system throughout, signalling presenters at the 12-minute mark and enforcing a firm stop at 15 minutes.
Tina Coppson, Dean of Coordinators, delivered the closing address. She shared her own story from early in her career, recalling how she was posted to a village as a young, new teacher and had to find her way. She went on to speak of how that same determination helped her win awards and rise to the top of her field, using her journey to encourage the school leaders never to give up on their own goals.
Emmanuel Sefadzi returned to bring the programme to a close, outlining what comes next for the school leaders. He raised the possibility of an advanced programme in the future and shared ways for the leaders to remain connected to the network going forward.
Participants were then called up individually to receive their Certificate of Participation, in what turned out to be the centerpiece of the day’s proceedings.
The ceremony wound down with networking, photographs and refreshments for all who attended.
Schools, businesses, NGOs and other organisations interested in joining afiDE Ghana’s community of sustainable digital education can get in touch: Phone: 053 511 1599 Email: info@afide.network Address: GD 216 2792, Adjiringanor, Accra Website: https://afide.network/contact/ In all, the event lasted about eight hours, from registration through to the final send-off.