Day: March 8, 2024

Some children under the Child-Friendly Accountability Mechanism (CFAM) platform in the Sagnarigu Municipality and Kumbungu District have appealed to parents and caregivers to prioritise their future by adequately providing them with their basic needs.

They mentioned quality and accessible education, health care services, good shelter and social amenities, career guidance and counseling services, and opportunities for skills learning at the appropriate age would ensure a conducive environment to guarantee them a bright future.

This was contained in a communique read on behalf of the CFAM members by Miss Barika Iddrisu, a CFAM member from Zagyuri Anglican JHS, at the CFAM District Level Forum at Gbanyamni in the Sagnarigu Municipality of the Northern Region.

The CFAM members, who participated in the forum, were drawn from Nangbagu Garizegu, Katariga, Zagyiri and Gbaynamni the Sagnarigu Municipality, and Bognaayili the Kumbungu District.

The forum, attended by schoolchildren, parents, and representatives of
some state institutions, including Ghana Education Service, Ghana Health Service, Department of Children, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, and chiefs, was to enable children to identify child protection gaps in their communities and advocate ways to addressing them.

The forum was organised by Markaz-Al-Bishara Child Development Programme (MABCDP) with support from Children Believe, an international non-governmental organisation.

As part of the forum, the children recited poems drawing attention to their plight.

The communique said children were being abused emotionally, mentally and physically and exposed to many dangers, and some had to sell in the morning before going to school, and after school, closing late at night just to get money for the next day at school.

It said many school girls got exploited in the process and became pregnant and dropped out of school or given out in marriages they were not prepared for.

It added that ‘Parents and caregivers are enrolling some schoolchi
ldren into apprenticeship work such as motor fitting, hairdressing, tailoring amongst others while they are still in Primary or JHS.’

It said, ‘this practice mostly leads to school drop-out since many are unable to cope with academic work and apprenticeship work at that time and age,’ hence need to prioritise their basic needs.

The communique said, ‘As we celebrate our municipal child forum today on the theme: ‘Promoting the holistic development of children: The role of parents and caregivers in Sagnarigu Municipality’, we pledge to play our part as responsible children and appeal to stakeholders and duty-bearers to also pledge on their part to provide educational services, health, shelter, justice delivery and social services that will serve as a vehicle for us to fulfill our full potentials in the future.’

Dr Issahaku Abdul Rahaman, Chief of Gbanyamli, appealed to parents to encourage their children and motivate them on the need to understand and uphold their cultural values.

He also advised parents not
to harass teachers in trying to impact knowledge to their children, adding that they should support teachers in training their children for a good future.

Mr Yussif Abubakari, a staff at the Sagnarigu Municipal Health Directorate, who represented the Municipal Health Director, appealed to parents and caregivers to take good care of their children, especially during their adolescent stage to lead upright lives.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Saint Francis College of Education (FRANCO), Hohoe, has held its matriculation ceremony for 355 students for the 2023/24 academic year.

Dr Adwoa Kwegyiriba, Principal of the College, said the College received a total of 3,871 applications out of which 3,523 were shortlisted.

She said in conformity to Ghana Tertiary Education Commission’s standards, the College admitted only 355 students made up of 210 males representing 59.15 per cent and 145 females, representing 40.85 per cent for the academic year.

Dr Kwegyiriba said Management was aware of the infrastructural needs of the College with efforts to construct new classroom blocks and hostels thereby calling for private partnerships.

She said Management had changed the dilapidated white boards with new ones for smooth teaching and learning and also making frantic efforts to improve upon the infrastructural development.

Dr Kwegyiriba said a 300 Capacity Hostel Project for students was on-going and called for speedy work on the project.

She said the C
ollege’s library had been well resourced into a modern facility and the computer lab, resourced with over 50 computers.

Dr Kwegyiriba said the lecture halls were also undergoing a facelift with some renovations such as floor tiles while plans were underway to renovate the dining environment with plastic chairs and tables.

She said the fence wall project was also ongoing to aid as protection to all.

Dr Kwegyiriba appealed to old students and benevolent individuals and organisations for a bus and an operational vehicle to facilitate the smooth running of the College.

She said the College was in partnership with the Thomas More University in Belgium and their mobility programme allowed student and staff to travel to Belgium yearly to learn and host staff and students of Belgium.

The 17th Matriculation was on the theme: ‘Training the professional teacher: A change maker of societal development.’

Mr Gabriel S. Kploanyi, a former Volta Regional Director of Education, commended management of the College for ha
ving the well-being of the learners at heart in its decision making and solutions provided.

He urged the matriculants to be professional, change makers and disciplined to the core in their pursuit of academic success.

Mr Kploanyi called on the lecturer to commit to fostering a generation of teachers who would be the architects of societal development, ‘one classroom at a time.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

Prof Anselm Komla Abotsi, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Education Winneba, (UEW), has called on Ghanaians to remember the sacrifices made by their ancestors which paved the way for the country’s freedom and independence.

He said the citizenry must reciprocate their example for future generations to also enjoy the fruits of the country.

Prof Abotsi made the call in a speech he delivered at the celebration of the 2024 Edition of Ghana National History Day (GNHD), and a symposium, organised by the Department of History Education of UEW, at Winneba.

The celebration was under the theme: ‘Debating Nationalism and Patriotism in Ghana’s History.’

It targeted students from the Basic, Senior High Schools and the university.

According to him, the motive behind the creation of GNHD by the department was to instil the love for history learning and researching by encouraging thousands of students, teacher and history enthusiast to participate in discussing history and doing historical re
search.

Prof Abotsi stated that the premise of the GNHD, was also to build on the idea that history-making was active, relevant, universally appealing, and an opportunity for all to learn about it by exploring, examining and sharing one’s history.

Reflecting on the history of the country, he stated that one could learn valuable lessons to guide a brighter future.

Dr Mrs. Anita O Adu-Boahen, Head of Department of History Education of the Faculty of Social Sciences of UEW, noted that the concept of nationalism was often deployed to divide and exclude the other.

She said patriotism, a high virtue, had now been redefined to suggest that any love for one’s country must affirm blinding support for the sectional and divisive ideals promoted either by politicians or leaders spearheading specific group interests.

According to her, patriotism had and continued to suffer a fierce contest from partisanship.

The first generation of African leaders who spearheaded the struggle for independence prided themselves with
being called nationalists, a term they often deployed as a rallying cry for galvanizing local resistance to the encroaching and brutal forces of colonialism.

And when they used that word, they evoked the spirit of patriotism with deep love for their people whom they envisioned as a nation, she added .

Dr Mrs Adu-Boahen urged Ghanaians to emulate the courage and self-sacrifice of their forbearers who defied the frightening consequences of resisting colonial rule and be directed at building a nation united with the love for democracy and respect for the Constitution of Ghana.

Patriotism and nationalism she indicated were in line with courage and civil responsibility and therefore urged the teaching of civics in schools towards imparting holistic value that promoted nation building.

Prof Samuel Adu Gyamfi of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Prof Wilson Yayoh from University of Cape coast and Dr Mjiba Frehiwot of Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, were the panellists of the
symposium, with Dr Akwesi Kwarteng Amoako-Gyampah as the moderator.

They made presentations on different perspectives of the theme and nationalism and patriotism and their role in shaping Ghana were discussed.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Sunyani Technical University (STU) has admitted 3,362 fresh students to pursue various diploma and degree programmes for the 2023/2024 academic year.

According to Professor Kwadwo Adinkrah-Appiah, the Vice Chancellor (VC), the university issued admission letters to a total of 5,704 prospective students.

Freshers for the academic year showed an increase of 14.0 percent over last year’s figure of 2,949 students.

Addressing the 28th matriculation ceremony of the university at its main campus in Sunyani on Friday, the VC said 2,252 of the fresh students, representing 67.0 percent were male whilst 1,110 representing 33 percent were females.

In terms of disciplines, 2,833, representing 84.3 percent enrolled into science, technology, engineering and TVET based programmes as against 529, constituting 15.7 percent for Business and Administration.

That, Prof Adinkrah-Appiah explained, was in line with the university’s mandate as a Technical University and attributed the significant rise in the student enrolme
nt for the academic year to several factors, including good performance of students in the world of work, as well as advertisements.

He said the introduction of new Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes was another key factor that had contributed to the increase in the student enrolment, saying the university was undertaking a more intensive enrolment drive to continuously improve its annual enrolment into new and existing academic programmes.

‘When patronage of such industry-driven programmes is improved, it would help produce more skilled graduates who can readily find employment or set up their own businesses to reduce the existing high spate of youth unemployment facing our country in recent times,’ Prof Adinkrah-Appiah stated.

The university currently runs the following programmes under GTEC accreditation: nine Master of Technology (MTech), 26 Bachelor’s programmes (BTech. and BSc. Programmes), 23 Higher National Diploma (HND), five Diploma and eight other non-tertiary programmes.

Prof Adinkrah-Appiah s
aid all was set for the university to start apprenticeship programmes under the Phase IV of the Ghana TVET Voucher Project (GTVP) under the auspices of KFW, indicating that 100 Mastercraft Persons (MCPs) from various Trade Associations had already been registered to commence the training as an initial step for training of all Apprentices under these MCPs.

He urged all prospective students, both local and foreign, to take advantage to enroll on these innovative and industry-driven programmes to acquire the requisite knowledge, technical and professional skills that would make them readily employable to avoid the ‘temptation of joining the so-called Unemployed Graduates Association in Ghana after going through some other programmes which are more susceptible to joblessness.’

The University is also making efforts to introduce several tailor-made micro-credentialled Programmes (Short Courses) for industry practitioners within and around the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions, which would eventually lead to full
degree certifications.

‘Establishments such as Newmont Ghana Gold-Ahafo Mine, VRA, and the Ghana Water Company within the three regions are informed to take advantage of these programmes at the Sunyani Technical University to provide life-long learning opportunities for their esteemed staff,’ Prof Adinkrah-Appiah said.

Source: Ghana News Agency