Renowned Ghanaian actor and media personality, Mikki Osei Berko, popularly known as Master Richard, has emphasized the need for career counselling in Ghanaian Senior High Schools. He explained in an interview with 107.9FM’s Rev Erskine on the Y Leaderboard Series, that lack of proper career counseling in Senior High Schools is an issue which has spanned decades in high schools across Ghana.
These counselling activities, he believes are needed in influencing the career path of students in a positive way. Master Richard, sharing his life story said, he discovered he was a performer at a very young age.
He attributed his early interest to inter-school cultural drama competitions, which birthed his love for acting during his primary school days. The absence of career counselling in his academic journey during Secondary School became a challenge for him. “I did science in school, because it was more of a privilege to be a science student, probably if I had adequate career counseling i would have pursued arts in school and that could have projected me further.” he said.
Mr. Osei Berko highlighted his resilience as a key factor that fueled his passion and enthusiasm for the stage .
As a young boy with a team of creatives, they will spend hours rehearsing for plays. This resulted in a strong perception of him as an unserious student carried by his colleagues. “After going ahead to read science, I spent most of my time in the dining hall rehearsing for plays. It was a challenging period as well because my classmates thought I was not a serious student. But my interest was in arts and it somehow affected my academics.” he shared.
Master Richard as an accomplished creative with a widely recognized face in the media industry advocates for career counselling in Ghanaian high schools to help students make the best choices in studies to align to their desired professions.
By: Stephanie Akoto
