Prempeh College has dedicated its 1,500-seat assembly hall as the J. A. Kufuor Auditorium and named its tenth and eleventh residences Arthur Clark House and Matthew Opoku Prempeh House. The naming ceremony took place at the college in Sofoline on Saturday, 17 June 2023.
The event honoured former President John Agyekum Kufuor, former headmaster Arthur Clark, and old boy Matthew Opoku Prempeh. College leaders selected the three names to recognise lives connected to the development of Prempeh College and to wider service in Ghana.
A gathering of the college community
The dedication was marked by a grand durbar on campus. Former President Kufuor and Matthew Opoku Prempeh attended, joined by old students, relatives, friends, education officials, and representatives of the college community. Dr Addo Kufuor, a former Minister for Defence and brother of the former President, was also present, along with the Ashanti Regional Director of Education at the time, Dr William Amankwa Appiah.
The three names record different forms of service to the college and Ghana: national leadership, school administration, and continued work by an old boy for his alma mater.
The J. A. Kufuor Auditorium
The new assembly hall bears the name of John Agyekum Kufuor, an old boy of Prempeh College who served as President of the Republic of Ghana from 2001 to 2009. The 1,500-seat auditorium gives the college a central venue for assemblies, lectures, performances, prize-giving ceremonies, and major gatherings.
The auditorium provides a central venue for the college’s largest gatherings and records John Agyekum Kufuor’s connection to the school.
Arthur Clark House
House 10 was named for Arthur Clark, who served as headmaster from 1961 to 1963. His period in office formed part of the final phase of expatriate leadership before Dr T. A. Osae became the college’s first African headmaster.
Naming a residence after Arthur Clark records his place in the college’s leadership history.
Matthew Opoku Prempeh House
House 11 was named for Matthew Opoku Prempeh, an old boy, Member of Parliament, and then Minister for Energy. He had previously served as Minister for Education. His family connection to the college’s origins is also significant: he is a grandson of Otumfuo Sir Osei Agyeman Prempeh II, the Asantehene who gave the college its land and name.
At the ceremony, he encouraged students to place a high value on academic work and to use education as the foundation for lives of purpose. The residence that carries his name adds a contemporary Amanfoɔ example to the house system and reinforces the expectation that old boys remain connected to the institution.
The three dedications
The 2023 ceremony added the names of John Agyekum Kufuor, Arthur Clark, and Matthew Opoku Prempeh to three major college facilities.
The J. A. Kufuor Auditorium, Arthur Clark House, and Matthew Opoku Prempeh House place those three records of service in the spaces where students gather and live.