Category: Science

Dr Clement Abasinaab Apaak, the Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Education Committee, has described as misplaced priorities the Ministry of Education’s decision to rebrand public basic schools.

The Sector Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, at a forum in Accra dubbed: ‘The Free SHS story,’ announced the Ministry’s decision to repaint public basic schools and change the uniforms of pupils to blue and white colours ‘to give them an attractive outlook.’

However, Dr Apaak in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency in Bolgatanga, called on the Minister to desist from rebranding the schools, saying that the colours represented the New Patriotic Party (NPP), and should not be accepted.

The Deputy Ranking Member, also a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Builsa South Constituency, said, ‘Spending public time and resources painting schools in blue and white, and introducing blue and white uniforms are clearly misplaced priorities.’

He recalled that Dr Adutwum in his report to Parliament during his last visit, i
ndicated that only 65 percent of textbooks were so far supplied.

‘May I remind him, that capitation grants are still in arrears for the equivalent of eight terms? How could rebranding be a priority in the face of these challenges facing public education in Ghana?’ Dr Apaak asked.

‘How can he, at this time of economic crisis in Ghana, be thinking of wasting public resources on furniture?’ he quizzed.

He enumerated challenges that affected teaching and learning in basic schools by a Head teacher, which needed urgent attention, and mentioned among others, the delay in releases of capitation grant of GHS10.00 per head per annum, which he noted was in arrears for eight tranches, equivalent to eight terms.

He said infrastructural deficit, especially poor toilet facilities, the lack of textbooks from KG to JHS for more than three years after the introduction of reforms, the lack of furniture for both teachers and students, the lack of security personnel to protect properties of schools which led to rampant theft
cases needed urgent attention.

‘According to the Head Teacher, basic school Administrators are struggling to manage the affairs of schools, because of inadequate funding, neglect and delay in the releases of the capitation grants, etc.’

The Deputy Ranking Member emphasized that ‘These are issues Dr Yaw Adutwum should be worried about, not the colours of school blocks and school uniforms.’

According to him, ‘Besides the overt attempt to brand public basic schools in NPP colours, the only other reason is to create an avenue to award sole sourced contracts to families, friends, and party members.’

Dr Apaak called on Ghanaians to resist the ‘needless initiative’ in the collective interest of the country and said, ‘If the Ministry of Education has funds, advisedly, those funds should go to address the long list of challenges narrated by Heads of public basic schools.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry in collaboration with World University Service of Canada (WUSC), under the scholarship ‘Invest-In-Her’ Scholarship has trained four hundred and forty-six women in technical and vocational skills.

The six months intensive training and the second of its cohort includes heavy-duty machine operation, electrical and solar installations, welding and fabrication, electric vehicle assembling and maintenance, computer hardware, networking and programming.

The scholarship programme was aimed at reducing gender specific barriers for women’s participation in economic development, equality and no -discrimination to enhance access to decent work for women inclusion in high-growth.

Mr Emmanuel Cherry, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry, said the training would help scale up the low levels of knowledge on women’s labour right among responsibility-holders, employers, and industry partners.

He said there was, therefore, the need to empower and equip
women, especially the up-and-coming graduates, in the construction sector to catch up in the often male-dominated area.

Mr Cherry said this at the 2nd Greater Accra graduation ceremony of the ‘Invest-In-Her’ Scholarship programme in Accra. It was on the theme: ‘Bridging The Gender Gap And Empowering Women For Sustainable Development In Male-Dominated Trades.’

He said the programme was a significant step towards addressing the skills gap in the construction sector and creating an inclusive society where women had equal opportunities to improve their economic lives.

He said the mindset of having only men designated to do construction works was a menace to societal development, urging stakeholders and industry players to seek these trained women and employed them for work.

The CEO said the training should help the country have its own expertise for developmental projects,’the construction industry would not rely solely on foreign companies and expertise,’ he added.

Mrs Emilia Ayipio Asamoah, Country Directo
r of WUSC Ghana, urged the graduates to perfect their skills and set themselves apart to be more unique and work proudly to clear the idea of only males could do construction and hard works.

She said good attitude and punctuality would lead them to job opportunities for greater success in future.

She appreciated their resilience and commitment to learn and be trained in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

She urged them to set the pace for the upcoming young girls to have the zeal to learn TVET, especially in construction.

She said skills development and its related employability had become integral parts of Ghana’s industrial development strategy, saying, TVET initiatives such as ‘Invest-In-Her’ Scholarship would provide the catalyst for realisation of the future.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Minority has urged the Education Minister to desist from the rebranding of public basic schools and channel the resources into tackling critical challenges facing basic education in the country.

‘How can the Minister, at this time of economic crisis in Ghana, be thinking of wasting public resources to repaint public schools in Blue and White colours; and introduce wearing of Blue and White uniforms in public schools, when one million plus public basic school pupils have no access to furniture?’

Dr Clement Abas Apaak, the Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament Education Committee and NDC Member of Parliament (MP) for Bulsa South, asked the question in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency on Saturday.

‘Has the Minister (Education) forgotten, what he told Parliament, during his last visit? In his report to Parliament, it has been captured that only 65 per cent of textbooks have been supplied thus far.’

‘May I remind him that capitation grants are still
in arrears for the equivalent of eight terms?’

He questioned how rebranding could be a priority in the face of these challenges facing public education in Ghana.

Giving a detailed list of shared challenges affecting teaching and learning in public basic schools in Ghana, Dr Apaak mentioned delay in releases of Capitation Grant (10 cedis per head per annum), which was in arrears for eight tranches (equivalent to eight Terms).

Others are infrastructural deficit, especially poor toilet facilities; lack of textbooks from kindergarten to junior high school, more than three years after the introduction of reforms; and no sample questions for 2024 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) Candidates (the first batch of the New Reform).

The rest are lack of furniture for both teachers and students; lack of security personnel to protect properties of schools, leading to rampant theft cases, unpaid Utility bills (electricity and water) leading to disconnections, while schools in urban areas faced the uphill ta
sk of disposing refuse, because of the lack of money to pay waste collectors.

He said basic school administrators were struggling to manage the affairs of schools, because of inadequate funding, neglect and delay in the releases of the capitation grants.

Dr Apaak said those were issues the Education Minister should be worried about, not the colours of school blocks and school uniforms.

He said spending public time and resources painting schools in blue and white, and introducing blue and white uniforms were clearly misplaced priorities.

‘We call on Ghanaians to join us in resisting this needless initiative in the collective interest of the State of the Republic of Ghana,’ he said.

‘If the Ministry of Education has funds, advisedly, those funds should go to address the long list of challenges narrated by Heads of public basic schools.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Wisdom Kwame Adeti, Headmaster of Anlo Senior High School (ANSECO) at Anloga, has appealed to the contractor working on the school’s dining hall and kitchen facilities to urgently complete the project for use.?

The temporary kitchen structure collapsed during a heavy rainstorm on Tuesday, April 23.

Information available to Ghana News Agency (GNA) suggested that since the commencement of the dining hall and kitchen project in 2012, the school kitchen had been operating under a temporary shed with students dining under the shed made of iron sheets and woods.

The?headmaster made the appeal when a team of top officials from the Anloga District Assembly and National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) visited the school Thursday to ascertain the level of damage caused by Tuesday’s windstorm.

He said the appeal had become very necessary because it was now very difficult for the school to cook for its students since the temporary kitchen had been destroyed.?

Among structures in the school damaged includ
ed the sports pavilion, two boys’ and girls’ dormitories, school garage, house mistress’ bungalow, Arts studio, Agriculture and ICT laboratory, which all?had parts or entire roofs removed.

Mr Adeti stressed his call in an appeal sighted by GNA Friday, copied to the District Chief Executive (DCE), Member of Parliament, Ghana Education Service and other stakeholders, urging them to get the contractor back to site.

‘We are appealing to your high offices to prevail upon the contractor working on the dining hall/kitchen project since 2012 to complete the facility for us to protect our kitchen staff and students from the vagaries of the weather.’

Investigations proved that the project, currently about 75 percent complete, stalled after the construction firm in charge (Vappy Limited) raised some contractual agreements to be completed before?the actual completion of works on the project.

Mr Seth Yormewu, DCE of Anloga, promised the headmaster that he would act on the matter.

‘I have seen the situation myself and
something must be done. I will quickly engage the people in charge to see how we can contact the contractor so this work can be completed and handed over to the school for use.’

? Other ongoing stalled projects in the school include a 10-seater toilet facility, computer laboratory and 12-unit boys’ and girls’ dormitories.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Renovation works have commenced at the Gundork primary school in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region, following a Ghana News Agency (GNA) report on the deplorable state of the school’s structure.

Earlier this month, GNA reported about the poor state of the school’s structure, which had its front pillars, particularly from classes one to three, destroyed, exposing iron rods and endangering the lives of students and teachers.

This caught the attention of Mr Jacob Soung Zurobire, Deputy Director, Judicial Training Institute of the Judiciary Service of Ghana, in charge of the training needs of judges and the Judicial Service’s staff, who contributed GH?3,200 for the fixing of the pillars.

‘You (GNA) broke out a story about the Gundork primary school, and considering the fact that the children’s lives are endangered, and as someone who also came from those schools to become a lawyer, I asked the Assemblyman of the area to get the estimates of materials needed for my consideration to save the lives of t
he children.

‘He got back with the estimate consisting of bags of cement and wood, costing about GH?3,100 and so I made a donation of GH?3,200 to fix the problem,’ the Legal Practitioner told the GNA in an interview.

The renovation work, when completed, would make the school again a safe environment for academic activities and possibly prevent any possible collapse of the school.?

He called on other residents of the community to offer support to others in need even before they were satisfied.

‘I advise all of you to support others in need before you get satisfied. Do not get satisfied before you help another person, and by doing so, we can live together and grow together as a community,’ he added.

Mr Isaac Wulug, the Assemblyman of the Zanlerigu Dagliga Electoral Area, who is spearheading the renovation, received the money and thanked the lawyer for his kind gesture in saving the lives of the children.

He explained that the amount would cover the renovation of the pillars; however, the windows and doors
of the school also needed to be fixed, and therefore called on the government and other residents of the community to come to the aid of the school.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr. Godwin Kofi Ahlijah, President, High Skies College in Tema, has attributed the high rate of unemployment in Ghana to the country’s non-skill-based educational system.

Dr. Ahlijah said because students were often trained in how to take exams and pass rather than the practical aspect of work when they graduate, it was difficult for them to get employment and fit into industries.

He said: ‘Graduates from our universities either are not relevant in the industry where they are needed, or they can’t do anything for themselves. This graduate unemployment thing shouldn’t have been an issue if we were training them to know how to begin their businesses.’?

He said this during the maiden congregation of the college, which is an affiliate of the University of Cape Coast.

Six graduated with Masters’ degrees, and 10 with diplomas.

Dr Ahlijah described the system of education in Ghana as ‘the awkward style of education’ and said it was the bane of the country’s development, as students are trained to be good exam t
akers who have a lot of knowledge and brilliant when taking exams but found wanting when it comes to implementing the same knowledge in the industry.

He explained that there were three levels of education, with the first being the knowledge base, where the learner is asked to memorise and define things, and the second being application, and then synthesis, where the learner can transport knowledge from one field to another.

He said for a change to occur, it must start with the schools, where they needed to reorient the learners on companies and opportunities instead of asking them to produce verbatim things in their books.

He indicated that such teaching practices and curriculum had led to a disconnect between academia and businesses, making graduates unfit for work.

According to him, there are a lot of business opportunities that are yet to be tapped in Ghana that people must be encouraged to go into instead of waiting for non-existing jobs.

The High Skies College President bemoaned the high-interest ra
te banks charge on loans, which he said also served as a hindrance on the path of graduates from becoming entrepreneurs.

‘If you look around, the interest rate today is almost 30 percent. Who can take money at that rate and do anything meaningful with it? That is where the government is expected to give some tax breaks to push people to create jobs,’he said.

? Dr. Philip Ankamafio Mensah, the Council Chairman of High Skies, urged students to make good use of artificial intelligence tools to enhance their knowledge and skill acquisition.

He said students, in doing so, must also have the necessary knowledge in whatever field they want to apply it to instead of being lazy and just downloading things without even acknowledging the source.

He encouraged graduates to always gain experience with the things they had learned, noting that learning is continuous not only in the classroom but also on the field.?

Source: Ghana News Agency

The All Nations University at Koforidua has held its 21st matriculation ceremony with 683 students for the 2023/2024 academic year.

Out of the total number, there were 221 males and 462 females offering various diploma and degree programmes.

The matriculation oath was administered to the students by Madam Christabel Odame, the Acting Registrar of the University, after which Professor Samuel Donkor, the President of the University officially accepted them into the school.

Prof. Donkor said the University was built on the pillars of academic excellence, total personality development, innovative spirit, and a commitment to training leaders who were prepared to face the challenges of their times and find solutions to advance their generation and beyond.

He urged the students to set clear goals and deadlines for themselves to meet academic time limit and still have time to engage in extra-curricular life on or off campus.

‘Setting clear goals and drawing a personal timetable will serve as a valuable guide to
prioritise and maximise your time,’ he said.

The University has a Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences faculty that provides programmes such as the Bachelor of Science (BSc) in General Nursing and the BSc in Emergency Medicine Technology.

It also provides a broad spectrum of undergraduate and graduate programmes in areas like oil and gas engineering, electronic and communications engineering, business administration, biblical studies, and computer science.

The graduate programmes offered an array of options, including MBA Accounting, Human Resources Management, Finance, Hospital Management, Information Technology, MPhil Business Administration, MPhil Theology and MSc Cyber Security.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Sierra Leone’s Minister for Transport and Aviation Rtd. Alhaji Fanday Turay will take over the Chancellorship of the Regional Maritime University from Mr Ebrima Sillah from The Gambia in June 2024.

The role of Chancellor is rotated among the five Member States (Cameroon, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone) every two years.

The University Management welcomed a delegation from Sierra Leone on a fact-finding mission ahead of the official induction of Rtd. Col. Turay as the new Chancellor of the University.

The delegation was led by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Aviation of Sierra Leone, Mr Rex Bhonapha together with the Executive Director of the Sierra Leone Maritime Administration, Mr Paul Soba Massaquoi, and Senior Technical Advisor, Ministry of Transport and Aviation, Dr Albert Forde.

Dr Jethro W. Brooks, the Ag. Vice Chancellor of the RMU assured the delegation of a smooth transition.

He urged the incoming Chancellor to endeavour to maintain unity among the Member States and the Univers
ity community while leading by example in terms of support to the RMU, essentially in the area of contribution payment.

Dr Baboucarr Njie, the Registrar of the RMU, who doubles as the Secretary to the Board of Governors said the visit was important in ensuring a successful takeover.

He explained that the Chancellor would be available for the Committee of Experts Meeting, and the Board of Governors Meeting, where the handing over ceremony would be held, and would subsequently preside over the meetings as well as lead the Congregation ceremony.

He reiterated RMU’s commitment to providing the new Chancellor with the necessary support to succeed.

Mr Bhonapha commended the University Management for their efforts towards growth, adding that the three-day visit was also to inquire about the role of the Chancellor and address the challenges of the university.

Mr Paul Soba Massaquoi, the Executive Director of Sierra Leone Maritime Administration, extended appreciation to the University for maintaining a cordial r
elationship among Member States and stakeholders over the years.

‘It is a pleasure to be here and looking forward to a very successful engagement that would provide clarity on our roles and adequately brief the new Chancellor to ensure a successful reign,’ he added.

The delegation on Friday, April 26, 2024, visited and toured some facilities of the University and engage in further deliberations before departing on Saturday, April 27, 2024.

Source: Ghana News Agency