Category: Science

Sunyani,– The Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) have been urged to intensify public education and sensitization on the government’s social intervention programmes and educational opportunities for people in the rural areas.

Mr Ernest Yaw Awuah Apreku, a Charted Accountant and Finance Officer at the Accra Technical University, said the move would motivate residents in the rural communities to know the importance of the various interventions programmes and the benefits aside from the Free Senior High School (FSHS) programme.

He was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after an orientation programme organised by the Board and Management of the Twene Amanfo SH/Technical School (TASTECH) for first-year students.

Mr Apreku, an old student of TASTECH, said despite the government’s FSHS programme, some parents and guardians in the rural areas were unable to enrol their children because of poverty.

He said the MDAs must educate the public about the existence of government scholarships and other learning opportunities at the Assemblies for brilliant but needy students.

Mr Apreku, therefore, urged the media to give the Municipal/District Chief Executives (MDCEs) the platform to tell and explain to the public the opportunities available for students.

He appealed to the government to still roll out more social support programs for actual needy students, saying, “there are families who are in difficult living conditions that they cannot even buy uniforms, footwear and other necessities for their wards”.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra,- The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has described African Education Watch independent assessment report on 2020 WASSCE in the country as misleading.

Mrs Agnes Teye-Cudjoe, Head of Public Affairs, WAEC National, at a press conference in Accra, noted that the Council was not engaged by Africa Education Watch before outdooring its report.

According to Mrs Teye-Cudjoe, if Africa Education Watch also known as Eduwatch had engaged the council, it would have been better informed about the council’s processes and procedures before coming to its conclusion and recommendations.

The press conference was in response to African Education Watch (EDUWATCH) an education think tank’s report based on its independent assessment of the conduct of the 2020 WASSCE.

Eduwatch in its report raised issues over leakage of examiners’ contact details, malpractices involving invigilators, primary source of leaked examination papers, delayed release of full WASSCE Results and relationship between WAEC, Ghana Education Service (GES) and Ministry of Education (MoE).

She said some aspects of the methodology used by EDUWATCH raised issues of credibility and fairness.

On the leakage of examiners contact details, the council said it had initiated investigations into the development and assured the public of fairness.

According to Mrs Teye-Cudjoe, the Council engaged in the swapping of scripts across the regions, exclusion of school names on Script envelopes and Mark sheets.

She explained that Team leaders vetted scripts marked by Assistant Examiners and Chief examiners vetted scripts marked by Team leaders.

“The vetting process was undertaken for quality control and ensure that marks were awarded in line with marking scheme.”

She said “WAEC’s monitoring of marking processes did not indicate any irregularities as a result of the unfortunate incident and as such we find it mind boggling that Eduwatch should continue to cast doubt on the credibility of the examination.

Indeed an analysis of the performance statistics for the WASSCE for the past three years (2018-2020) does not show any abnormal improvement in performance.”

Mrs Teye-Cudjoe said the council had however identified “a technological failure” which had been addressed to ensure that the incident (leakage of examiners contact details) did not recur.

She further said it was inaccurate that almost all the papers apart from Integrated Science and Social Studies leaked and the council had to change questions.

“WAEC did not replace any questions paper because of leakage. There are standard procedures which have to be followed when any paper has to be replaced and no member country can replace any paper without following due process.

She said WAEC still stood by its August 19, 2020 press statement that indicated that several fake versions of questions including those of Integrated Science 2 and 1, Social Studies 2 and 1, Chemistry 3, Practical Alternative A, and Economics (2 and 1) papers were shared on social media platforms.

Mrs Teye-Cudjoe said, “WAEC does not transport questions papers to examination centres in the night prior to or at dawn of examination day.

According to her, on the issue of malpractices involving invigilators, instructions for use by Supervisors at examination centres stipulated that “No member of staff should invigilate any subject which he or she teaches whether in the examination year or any other year.”

This is strictly adhered to by school authorities in the drawing up of the invigilation timetable.

She said “while there may be a few bad nuts in the system, it is unfair for EDUWATCH to use that to indict teachers with respect to integrity.

The Head of Public Affairs of WAEC National Office said the Council had not withheld results of 60,000 candidates as stated by Eduwatch report

“WAECs press release of November 30, 2020 indicated that “scripts of candidates from 122 schools in certain subjects are undergoing scrutiny”.

Mrs Teye-Cudjoe said, “It must be emphasised that the Council carries out thorough investigative process when issue of malpractice are alleged, to ensure fairness. This includes interviewing of candidates.”

On the relationship between WAEC, Ghana Education Service and Ministry of Education, she said it was highly impossible for any member of the Council to dictate or influence members to take inappropriate action as suggested by Eduwatch.

According to her, WAEC was committed to the conduct of credible examinations as well as adopt innovative measures to improve processes especially in the fight against examination malpractices.

She said WAEC welcomed suggestions from the public that would enhance its operations.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Kadjebi (O/R),- Mr Anthony Agortimevor, a Budget Officer of the Kadjebi District Directorate of the Ghana Education Service (GES), has appealed to teachers to act responsibly and stand up to be real agents of change to help transform society.

He urged the teachers to desist from deviant behaviours not to dent the image of the teaching profession.

Mr Agortimevor was speaking at the Accountability Forum on Back-to-School Campaign organised by the Kadjebi District Director of the GES with support from UNICEF at Kadjebi in the Oti Region.

He said teacher absenteeism, drunkenness; sexual harassment and the amorous relationship between pupils and teachers were on the increase.

Reverend Vincent Komla Darkpoh, the Kadjebi District Pastor of the Deeper Life Bible Church, urged parents to inculcate good moral values such as honesty, respect for other people and care and maintenance for family property to enable them to transfer those traits to school and public settings when they grew-up.

“Instill God’s words in the children since fear of God is the basic foundation.”

Mr Samuel Kofi Menu, Assembly Member for Kadjebi Central Electoral Area, said the Back-to-School Campaign by the Girl-Child Unit of the GES in January 2021 helped increase school enrolment.

He appealed to parents to invest in their children in school and called on the government to provide schools with the needed logistics for effective teaching and learning.

Mr Samuel Drah, the Headmaster of Kadjebi Evangelical Presbyterian (E.P) Junior High School (JHS), appealed to his colleagues to work extra hard to achieve results.

He advised them to refrain from engaging in acts harmful to the teaching profession.

The Girl-Child Unit of the GES in January 2021 embarked on a “Back-to-School” campaign after the closure of schools in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The campaign was to encourage the school children to go back to school despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was also to disseminate information on the “Guide for Prevention of Pregnancy among school Girls’ and the Facilitation of Re-Entry into School after Childbirth” policy by GES.

The Kadjebi GES Directorate organised the forum within eight circuits in the District to get feedback from the stakeholders, who were drawn from PTA, SMC, Headteachers, Chiefs, and assembly members, among others.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra,- The Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) has pledged to support Ghana’s educational infrastructure to enhance quality teaching and learning in schools.

The Bank is currently supporting the country through the Ministry of Education in the provision of basic education projects in five regions and committed to help in other sectors of the economy for national development.

Mr Diab Karrar Ahmed Karrar, Director of Operations, Public Sector, BADEA, said this on Tuesday when he joined his team to pay a courtesy call on Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister of Education, in Accra.

He said the support was part of the Bank’s three year development project to support the country’s educational sector, stressing that the team would meet with the Education Minister for further discussions on key areas of support.

Mr Karrar stated that education was the backbone of every country, and that his outfit was committed to supporting Ghana’s Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics Accra from the Kindergarten to the Senior High School.

“We are here to help and complement Ghana’s developmental agenda and we have the experts in all sectors of the economy and pledge to make the partnership successful through positive outcomes,” he said.

The Bank was created for the purpose of strengthening economic, financial and technical cooperation between the Arab and African regions and for the embodiment of Arab-African solidarity on foundations of equality and friendship.

The Bank’s mandate is to participate in financing economic development in African countries, stimulate the contribution of Arab capital to African development and help provide the technical assistance required for the development of Africa.

Dr Adutwum thanked the Bank for the support and promised to work together to explore more opportunities in the educational sector, especially with content and capacity building for holistic development.

He said government was working assiduously to transform the country through education by developing an assertive curriculum to enhance the creativity of students and think critically to address challenges.

“We need to build the human capacity to develop the students and bring about the needed improvement in the educational sector,” he said.

The Minister of Education expressed government commitment to creating a robust education system towards providing quality education for national development.

He said the government’s transformational agenda through the development of a new education curriculum affirmed the assurance to invest in education to improve teaching and learning in schools.

The Minister said under the new pre-tertiary education curriculum, all primary four pupils in public schools would in November 2021 write the new National Standards Test to assess their knowledge, skills, and performance for feedback and response.

He said the government was starting with Primary Four because of COVID-19 and stressed that when the pandemic was under good control, the test would be extended to Primary Two and Primary Six.

The National Standards Test is in response to Ghana’s Education Strategic Plan from 2018 to 2030, which prioritises improving learning outcomes at all levels by creating a national standards-based assessment at the pre-tertiary level, to measure the quality of learning achievements before the end of Junior High School.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Akyem Wenchi (E/R),- Daasebre Dr Nyarko Asumadu Appiah, Chief of Akyem Wenchi and board chairman of Akyem Wenchi Salvation Army Senior High School (SHS), has unveiled an award scheme for hardworking teachers.

The award scheme, dubbed Daasebre Awards, is to be held annually to honour the best-performing students and hardworking teachers of the school.

Speaking at an event to launch the maiden awards, Daasebre Appiah said the scheme was part of a strategy to uplift academic standards.

Seven subject teachers whose students emerged the best performing in 2020 received cash awards.

The subjects were core mathematics, elective mathematics and social studies.

Ten graph boards were presented to the mathematics department.

Mr Thomas More Mensah Tsorhe, District Education Director of Denkyembour, lauded the school’s board chairman for dedicating his resources to award teachers for their achievements.

“My honourable teachers what we are witnessing today is just the beginning and those awarded today should not think they are the best but just that, it is their time ordained by God,” he said.

“Other staff will get their turn when God wishes.”

He called on teachers to inculcate in students the fear of God to become responsible leaders in future.

Giving a brief history about the Salvation Army SHS, Mr Isaac Owusu Agyeman, Headmaster of the School, said the institution was established in 1991 with 12 students whose population has increased to about 1,446 by 2021.

The school has 63 teaching and 59 non-teaching staff.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Femesua (Ash), – A six-member National Executive of CSIR College of Science and Technology (CCST) Alumni Association has been inaugurated with a call on them to mobilise graduates of the college to serve as good ambassadors.

As the first National Executives of the Association, they were tasked to equip stakeholders in the physical and natural sciences with the appropriate skills and attitude to enhance their contribution to sustainable development in Ghana and beyond.

Prof. Moses B. Mochiah, Director for CSIR-CRI and the Representative of CSIR Director on the Board of the CCST, said the alumni represented the most valuable asset and the permanent members of the CCST family.

He said the Alumni should be role models to students and support them with scholarships to enhance the learning ability of students in the College.

“We want you to be learning judges, coaches, business partners, internship providers, and college members,” he encouraged the Association.

He charged the Association to organize regular social events such as fun games and dinner dances for former students to maintain their connection with the college.

Prof. Mark Appiah, President of CCST who sworn the executive into office, said the college was committed to providing a quality learning environment and training that supports the development of appropriate skills needed for job placement.

“Unfortunately for many university graduates in Ghana, unemployment remains the biggest problem. Most graduates find it difficult to transition from university education to work mainly because of mismatch of skills required on the job market,” he pointed out.

This, he said, was because many university graduates did not have the skills to meet the needs of the labour market basically because university education had not been linked to the needs of the important sectors of the economy.

He further stated that “with the shrinking public sector employment opportunities, university education must be relevant by ensuring that education systems and programmes can equip students with the relevant skills for industry and other private-sector jobs.”

He said he would count on the CCST Alumni Association to support the college to train and send out graduates who would have exceptional skills needed by industry and the private sector.

Mr Charles Brefo- Nimo, the President of CCST Alumni, said the Association would spare time and a resource to raise the flag of the college to a greater height, saying it was a call to duty and service.

“I am confident that together we shall make this university proud by our exploits in the country and beyond. In the days ahead our alumni association would focus on our future together with the university administration and the governing board to lift the image and visibility of this noble university,” he pledged.

The executives are Charles Yaw Brefo-Nimo, President, Louisa Abena Ebbah, Vice President, Kwaku Osei Adu Agyeman, General Secretary, Eunice Okyere Agyapong, Organizer, Alexander Owusu Ansah, Treasurer and Agnes Achiaa Aboagye, Communication and Public Relations.

The CCST was established out of the research and development experiences of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to increase the scientific capacity needed to drive Ghana’s socio-economic development in line with CSIR mandate to expand the platform for science and technological application.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The CEO of Geodrill Mr. David Harper, presented a large cheque for GHS150,000 to the Old Achimotan Association (OAA) at a ceremony held June 14. The amount is Geodrill’s contribution towards the equipping and use of Achimota School’s state of the art science laboratory complex by the current and future students of the school.

The cheque was gratefully received by the president of the OAA and former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Ernest Aryeetey. Also present at the presentation ceremony were some alumni of the school, the Headmistress, teachers and students.

Mr. Harper emphasised the importance of education to the students present and he expressed his hope that their education at Achimota School, and particularly in science, would set them on the path to successful adult careers and to contribute meaningfully to the development of Ghana.

Mr. Harper revealed a longstanding association with the school where he used to play cricket. He encouraged other companies to take their ESG obligations seriously and support worthy institutions to fulfil their mission. Geodrill, a leading drilling exploration company to the mining sector, is committed to being a socially responsible company that actively promotes social causes such as the education of Ghanaian youth. The support for the laboratory complex is yet another purposeful outcomes-based Geodrill ESG initiative.

According to Prof Aryeetey, the science lab was constructed with the support of corporate sponsors, who contributed about one-third of the total cost, and the remainder from Achimota alumni. The OAA and Achimota were still hopeful of receiving further contributions from other companies to sustainably fund the provision of science education and other programmes for the benefit of the students.

Prof. Aryeetey gave Mr. Harper a tour of the science laboratory complex after the presentation ceremony.

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Source: Ghana Web

AkyemWenchi (E/R) – Mr Thomas More Mensah Tsorhe, the District Director of Ghana Education Service (GES) in Denkyembour, has cautioned students to desist from deviant behaviours that hamper effective teaching and learning.

He said his outfit was poised for a holistic approach that augured a satisfactory academic performance and would therefore not entertain unpleasant acts from students.

The holistic approach introduced to improve academic performance include effective planning and management coupled with a student-friendly safe environment and monitoring.

The Director made this statement during the launch of the “Daasebre Awards” at Salvation Army Senior High School at AkyemWenchi in the Denkyembour district of the Eastern region.

The Awards aim at motivating hard-working teachers to uplift the academic standard of the school.

Mr Isaac Owusu Agyeman, the Headmaster of Salvation Army Senior High School – AkyemWenchi, said the school established in 1991 with 12 students, has had its population increased to 1,446 in 2021 with 63 teaching staff and 59 non-teaching staff.

He, therefore, appealed for the completion of a girls’ dormitory, two classroom blocks, an ultra-modern toilet facility, and an administration block.

In a response to the appeal for completion of the aforementioned projects, Mr Seth Birikorang, District Chief Executive of the Denkyembour, said measures were underway by the government for their completion.

Students who spoke with the GNA on condition of anonymity raised concern about insecurity in the school, citing instances of unauthorised movement of motors and tricycles on the school compound.

The situation, according to the students, at times leads to violent confrontations between the students and the riders.

They appealed to the government and benevolent organisations for the walling or fencing of the school to ward off criminals.

Source: Ghana News Agency