A boy whose secondary school education was nearly derailed by his family’s religious beliefs has completed his Senior High School education at the Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School (PRESEC Legon).
Evans was one of the best students in the Tema Municipality in the 2023 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), but his mother’s newfound faith, which was against formal education, threatened to prevent him from taking up his hard-earned placement at PRESEC.
Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, who led efforts to locate Evans and get him enrolled, announced the milestone on Facebook on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, after visiting the school to congratulate him.
“I am at PRESEC Legon to congratulate and see Evans off as he completes SHS. You may remember the story of a 14-year-old boy whose family’s religious beliefs threatened his right to secondary education, even after scoring distinction at BECE, having attended a public basic school,” he wrote.
Asare described the journey as a battle they were determined not to lose, involving weeks of searching for Evans, persuading his family to release him, and working with the Police and the Department of Social Welfare to intervene.
By the time Evans was located, school was already in its fifth week.
“In January 2024, with your support, we enrolled Evans at PRESEC Legon. From tracing his whereabouts, persuading his family to release him, and working with the Police and Social Welfare to intervene, it was a difficult journey. But we prevailed. Today, Evans has completed school and is hoping to continue to tertiary,” he said.
Asare also credited former Education Minister Dr Yaw Adutwum for helping preserve Evans’ PRESEC placement despite the delayed enrolment, and expressed gratitude to PRESEC headmaster and one housemaster for accepting Evans and caring for him throughout his time on campus.
“I remember handing Evans over to Mr Odjidja that Saturday at his residence and pleading with him not to allow anyone to take him away without my permission,” he said.
Evans is now hoping to pursue tertiary education.
