Category: Education

Kotwea (Ash),– The family of the late T.A. Bediako, a renowned educationist, has built a junior high school block with a computer laboratory for the Kotwea Community in the Bekwai Municipality of the Ashanti Region.

The block, estimated at GHc200,000.00, will help lessen the burden on pupils who had to travel long distances to continue their JHS education.

The family had been very supportive in the provision of social amenities to the community.

Through the family, the community was connected to the national electricity grid and has also constructed a hospital to enhance access to healthcare delivery.

Pupils in the community, after completing primary school, had to travel to either Abodom or Bekwai for their junior high school education, which was a headache for the pupils, their parents and teachers.

The family, therefore, decided to construct the JHS block as a Memoriam to the educationist, who had been very instrumental in ensuring the upgrading of Ghana’s educational system, especially the formation of the Ghana National Association of Teachers.

Pastor M.A. Bediako, a member of the family, said the gesture was to immortalise the legacy of T.A. Bediako, who was very passionate about children’s education.

He said the family would continue to support the provision of social infrastructure to help improve the living conditions of the people of Kotwea, the birthplace of the late T.A. Bediako.

Mr Kwaku Kyei Baffour, the Bekwai Municipal Chief Executive, commended the family for its continued support to the community and appealed to the teachers, who would be posted to the school, to maintain the facility to prolong its lifespan.

Mrs Leticia Obeng, the Municipal Director of Education, said the classroom block with modern furniture and computer laboratory was a great relief to people as it would facilitate quality education delivery.

She lauded the family for its unflinching support of quality education delivery in the community and the municipality in general.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Kumasi,– The Garden City University College (GCUC) has matriculated a total of 1,996 students with a call on them to make maximum use of resources and facilities at their disposal to achieve academic excellence.

The ceremony, which was the 16th since the establishment of the University, marked a huge leap in terms of admission, having admitted only 579 students in 2018.

In that same year the school matriculated 35 students each for regular nursing and midwifery but the number increased to 220 and 114 for nursing and midwifery, respectively, for the 2021/2022 academic year.

Professor Edward Kwame Asante, the President of the University, who administered the Matriculation Oath, said the increase in enrolment was a clear indication of the belief in the quality of teaching and learning.

He said the increase in admission was also driven by student satisfaction as most new entrants were referred by either continuing students or the alumni.

To motivate the students to do more referrals, Prof. Asante disclosed that the University offered some discount to students who were able to facilitate new admissions.

He said the school had had declining numbers in recent years but the situation had improved in the last two years with the commitment of the hard-working staff and students.

Prof. Asante expressed concern over lack of support for private universities by the Government despite their immense contribution to the human resource base of the country.

He said it was unacceptable that they were not benefitting from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND), which was funded by taxes of the citizenry, including parents of students in the private university.

He assured the students that they had made the right choice and would not regret their decision to study at the GCUC where quality tuition was their hallmark.

He told the newly admitted students that they had the obligation to protect the property of the University, respect the rights of other students and report any criminal activities to the school authorities.

“In pledging to be of good behavior, fresh students are committing themselves to avoid indiscipline and disorderliness for the duration of their time as students,” Prof. Asante said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra- The British Council has launched an Alumni UK body in Ghana to build long lasting connections and mutually beneficial relationships among people who studied in the United Kingdom.

The Alumni UK body is a global professional network which aims at providing a common platform where oversees students could find new opportunities internationally, share and showcase their skills.

Speaking to some Ghanaian UK Students at the launch of the Alumni in Accra, Madam Harriet Thompson, British High Commissioner to Ghana, said education represented a great area of linkage between Ghana and the UK with over 70, 000 Ghanaian students having studied in UK over the last decade in undergraduates and post-graduate programmes.

“It is an absolute joy to be able to launch the Alumni UK network and overtime we hope this network will be the biggest network of UK Alumni which will allow students here in Ghana to grow their network globally, access resources online and a common platform for exchanging ideas.

“We look forward on how it will help you accelerate in your careers and how it helps you do well for Ghana and the communities you are serving with the education and knowledge you have gained from some world class Universities in the UK,” she said.

Mr Chikodi Onyemerela, Acting Country Director at the British Council- Ghana and Cameroon, said the motive of the Alumni is to bring together all who have studied in the UK whether through scholarships or independent students so that they could share knowledge and experiences.

“Education is at the fulcrum of what the British Council does and we’re looking to create a common platform where students who have studied in the UK can build their worldwide network continue learning and sharing experiences and expertise.

“We expect the Alumni to demonstrate some of the things they learned here in Ghana and positively impact the micro and macro economy of the country,” he stated.

Mr John Nani, Ghanaian student who studied at the University of York in 2019 in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of the launch, stressed how beneficial the network platform would be to students who have studied in the UK.

“This Alumni UK body will help me expand my connections especially in the corporate world where you would need new ideas to thrive. So it would help foster business relationships and also contributing my quota to the country’s development,” he said.

Past students of any UK University can log onto the British Council website to find details on how to join the network.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra- Kwame Brako Asante of the Presbyterian Boys’ Senior High School (PRESEC), Legon, has won the second prize at the International Excellence Awards for the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for 2021 school candidates.

Mr Asante had a total t-score of 600.9987, a statement from the West African Examinations Council, has said.

A total number of 2,214,979 candidates from five member countries of WAEC sat for the examination.

Professor Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, Vice Chairman of the Council and Director-General, Ghana Education Service, presented Asante’s award to him in Accra during the opening ceremony (virtual) of the 70th Annual General Assembly.

Mr Asante who is currently at the Ashesi University College studying Computer Science, received a cheque for GHC7,500.

The statement said the first and third prizes went to Ms Nwezu Isabella Chinasa from Lagoon School, Lekki, Lagos with a t-score of 606.8766 and Mr Edeani Izchukwu Godswill from Airforce Comprehensive School, Agbani, Enugu State, Nigeria, with t-score of 598,1588 respectively.

“On the strength of the basic criterion of eight (8) grade AI’s, 179 of the 442,807 candidates sat for the examination in Ghana and 96 of 1,560,239 candidates sat the examination in Nigeria,” the statement said.

It said in all, 275 were considered eligible for the awards.

The International Excellence Awards was instituted by the Board of Trustees of WAEC Endowment Fund in 1984 to honour candidates with outstanding performance in the Council’s Senior High School Certificate Examination.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra- The Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT (AITI-KACE) embarked on an outreach programme to train young ladies in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

A statement issued by the Centre and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said the young girls, drawn from selected junior and senior high schools, were also trained in leadership skills, as part of activities to mark International Women’s Day.

Globally, March 8 is set aside every year to celebrate women’s social, economic, cultural, and political achievements.

It is also a day that marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.

This year, the theme was “‘Breaking the Bias”.

The statement said AITI-KACE’s mandate is to coordinate and oversee an ICT system that produces globally competitive research and Innovation through quality-oriented and demand-driven learning for national development.

“Included in our mandate is to bridge the digital divide in ICT and electronics through individual and institutional capacity building.”

Dr Collins Yeboah-Afari, the Director-General of AITI-KACE, said as a promoter of IT, the Centre decided to work with a mission to “Forge women’s equality in tech and the best time to do this is to start training them in their earlier stages.”

“In this world that patriarchy has dominated and somewhat threatened the growth and development of women, we are comforted and encouraged by the many Ghanaian women today who, through their perseverance and determination, is getting rid of the obstacles, climbing the ladders, shattering the glass ceilings and scaling the walls,” he said.

“AITI-KACE saw it fit to educate, inform and enlighten our female future leaders on the need to be wholesomely equipped in the area of ICT relevant to their career choice.”

The interactive session was designed to achieve a greater degree of success in their pursuit of higher education and serve as a guide in their career path, Dr Yeboah-Afari said.

A team of female lecturers and staff from AITI-KACE took the opportunity to visit De Youngsters (Adenta and Nima branch) and Flagstaff House Basic School to train and mentor the young ladies in ICT.

It said in total, more than 352 female students took part in the training and mentoring session, which took place in the three schools.

AITI-KACE is Ghana’s first Advanced Information Technology Institute with a world-class research facility focusing on innovating products and services for individual and institutional advancement.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Sunyani, Mar. 16, GNA –The Joseph and Elizabeth Quansah (JEQ) Foundation of the United States of America (USA) has awarded scholarships covering tuition and accommodation fees to two students of the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) in Sunyani.

The beneficiaries, Mr Hayford Kankam Boadu, a Level 300 Bachelor of Science (BSc.) Mechanical Engineering student and Ms Talitha Anokye, a Level 400 BSc Biological Science student would receive support till the completion of their respective programmes.

Ms Anokye in addition received a laptop from the Foundation for her exceptional performance during the selection process.

The JEQ Foundation was established in 2019 by a Ghanaian couple, Professor Joseph Quansah and Dr Mrs Elizabeth Quansah based in the USA to support needy but brilliant students in Ghana.

Any applicant of the scholarship must be a student from a public university with a cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.30 and above and must provide a transcript too.

Other requirements include a recommendation from two lecturers, a statement indicating the reason for the support.

The scholarship demands an applicant must be a student of a single parent and poor financial background with the ability to be able to mentor other junior colleagues as a beneficiary.

Presenting the packages on behalf of the Foundation, Prof. Elvis Asare-Bediako, the Vice-Chancellor of the UENR advised the students to study even harder to justify the award to become worthy ambassadors for both the University and the Foundation.

Prof. Asare-Bediako appealed to equally capable families, couples and individuals in the society to engage in such charitable causes to enhance the livelihoods of the needy.

“We must learn from the experience of Joseph and Elizabeth, one must not be rich before one can give to the needy, giving should be part of our lives”, he advised.

Dr Mrs Mercy Derkyi, the Acting Director, Centre for Professional Development, UENR said the Centre for Skills Enhancement under the Dean of Students would build a strong collaboration with the Foundation and other funding agencies to facilitate for many deserving students from the institution to receive financial support to propel them for the realisation of their academic potentials.

Later in separate interviews with the Ghana News Agency, Ms Anokye and Mr Boadu expressed appreciation to the Foundation and the University for their selection and pledged to fulfil the required task as beneficiaries of the scholarship.

Source: Ghana News Agency