Seth J. Bokpe's Ghana Newsreel

Close to 400 pupils from Ayigbe Town, SCC, Bortianor and Broadcasting, communities behind the Weija Dam, who school at Weija get stranded every morning as a result of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) closing its gate, which is the only route to the schools by the pupils on foot.   Residents of Aplaku and its surrounding communities have, therefore, appealed to the government to construct a footbridge across the Weija Lake to ease the difficulties their children face on their way to school across the lake.   The gate was closed last year on the instructions of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing. While some parents contended that the decision of the GWCL was increasing the dropout rate in the community, an official of the GWCL who spoke to the Daily Graphic  on condition of anonymity, maintained that the decision was rather for the safety of the children. “This place is not a thoroughfare. We do a lot of...

The University of Ghana, Legon, is to introduce a new structure for its PhD programmes beginning from the 2012/ 2013 academic year. Key among the changes to the existing programme include the admission of first degree holders into the MPhil/ PhD programmes and the introduction of comprehensive examinations for the candidates before they embark on their researches. Additionally, students will now have to do a compulsory course work and formal defense of research proposals. The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Legon Professor Ernest Aryeetey announced the changes at the 2012 congregation of the university. He said the changes were to make “our doctoral students more analytical, ensure that they were familiar with current and relevant literature in their fields and also ensure that our doctoral programmes conform to best practice.” While the ceremony had 3810 students graduating at various levels with 417 students obtaining first class honours, 17 of the ...

THREE books on Information Communication Technology (ICT) have been launched in Accra to enhance the teaching and learning of the subject in educational institutions. Authored by an Information Technology Analyst, Mr Bright Siaw Afriyie, the books, “Concise ICT Fundamentals Volume 1 and 2’ and ‘Solution-Answers and Methodologies to Concise Fundamentals’ walk the user through chapters on basic ICT concepts, computer hardware and software, word processing, Internet and keyboarding and mouse review. The “Concise ICT Fundamentals Volume 1’ which is a 416-page book published by the Pacom Publishing Corporation of Korea is compiled into six chapters and each chapter subdivided into three sections, namely text, assignments and quizzes while the ‘Solution-Answers and Methodologies to Concise Fundamentals’ published by the same company contains solutions to assignments and quizzes and instructional methodologies. The Concise ICT Fundamentals Volume 2 on the other hand, which was publishe...

  Authorities of private universities in the country have called on the government to include their institutions in the allocations of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) in order to increase access to university education in the country. “We are part owners of the Fund and it is only fair that it is opened to us to expand infrastructure and improve access to university education to the youth.” The Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Private University of Ghana (CHPUG), Prof. James Hawkins Ephraim, made the call at the fourth congregation of the Wisconsin International University College, Ghana at Agbogba in Accra. Prof. Ephraim noted that the contribution of private universities to the development of the country could not be underrated hence the need to support them to lubricate the development of human resource in the country and ultimately, the country’s growth. In all, 804 students were awarded with first degrees in programmes including Computer Sc...

        Top: Vice-Chancelor of the University of Ghana, Prof Ernest Aryeetey) Main: The Great Hall of the Univ. THE University of Ghana, Legon, has restructured its undergraduate programmes in the Humanities and Sciences, with many new courses and programmes introduced and existing ones revised. The Vice-chancellor of the university, Prof Ernest Aryeetey, announced this at its congregation held at Legon on Saturday. He said the university had inaugurated a steering committee to oversee the process of creating a multi-disciplinary institute of applied scientific research to facilitate industrial transformation in Ghana and other parts of Africa. Prof Aryeetey said the work of the institute was expected to be in areas including food processing and the development of materials for various production process, including packaging and environmental conservation. In all, 4,408 students graduated, including 846 postgraduates, 21 doctoral candidates, ...

THE inability of the Ministry of Education (MoE) to implement the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) textbook policy which makes it mandatory to print 60 per cent of textbooks locally is stifling the printing industry in Ghana, the Ghana Printers and Paper Converters Association (GPPCA) has said. It said contrary to suggestions that the local industry was saddled with problems, it had the capacity to meet the demands of the educational sector. The President of the association, Mr James Appiah-Berko Snr, made the observation when he led executives of the association to pay a courtesy call on the Minister of Education, Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, to present the challenges of the industry to her and discuss avenues of co-operation which would ultimately lead to the strengthening of the printing industry to meet the textbook and exercise book needs of the country. He noted that industry players had invested millions of dollars to acquire printing machines for the producti...

THE Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), through the Ministry of Education, has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Chinese consortium to facilitate the completion of structures at the university’s new site located at Okponglo in Accra. The project, when completed, will have modern facilities, including lecture halls, residential facilities for lecturers, audio-visual departments and a library. The Chairman of the GIJ Governing Council, Alhaji A.B.A Fuseini, who made this known at the 10th matriculation ceremony of the school last Saturday, said the council was also working with the Ghana Educational Trust Fund (GETFUND) to increase financial support for the project. The  ceremony was to matriculate 420 students out of the 1,200 students who applied for the Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Communication Studies, Diploma in Communication Studies and Top-up BA programmes for Diploma holders from the university. Alhaji Fuseini was optimistic that work on the project, which has...

THE Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) will, from the next academic year, introduce courses in Petroleum and Environmental and Climate Change Reporting in response to the emergence of the oil industry in the country. The initiative is to ensure that products of the school are well abreast of issues concerning the industry. The Rector of GIJ, Mr David Newton, announced this at the fourth congregation of the institute, which was on the theme: “The Role of Communication in Ghana's emerging oil industry". He advised Ghanaians not only to think of the economic gains of the industry but also consider the impact of the oil on the environment, including oil spillage, and other concerns such as dangers of pollution and influx of illegal immigrants. “It is our hope that as new comers in the oil industry, we shall be guided by the lessons and experiences of other countries which are forerunners in the industry," he added. The congregation, the second after the institute re...

A NATIONAL School Connectivity Project which has provided an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centre for all Colleges of Education in the country was inaugurated at the Akatsi College of Education in the Volta Region at the weekend. The project which is valued at $45,000 for each College, was funded by the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC). It is equipped with computers, a projector, an Uninterrupted Power System (UPS), printers, scanners and connected to the Internet. The facility is aimed at making all teacher-trainees ICT proficient to support ICT education which is now an examinable subject in all basic schools. The GIFEC was established in 2004 as an implementing agency of the Ministry of Communications, to facilitate the spread of ICT use in rural Ghana, to promote research and reading culture, train rural schoolchildren and teachers in the use of ICT and empower rural communities by providing access to information to help increase di...

A NEW book, ‘Secrets of Smart Learners,’ which offers insight into practical learning techniques and life-changing experiences for students has been launched in Accra. Authored by Mr Richard Lanyo, a Child Evangelist, researcher and a motivational speaker, the book comes with 14 secrets to make the reader not only good at learning but an effective learner. The book gives readers an antidote to trial and error learning, provides helpful tips for better academic results and shows how to identify, prevent or change a learning-deficiency and improve upon it. It also gives tips for  learners to conquer fear, explore, absorb materials quickly and effectively, streamline and maximise study for high marks, improve upon their communication skills through critical thinking. The book is packed with biblical and intellectual quotations, entertaining cartoons,  and hilarious sayings. Launching the book , Mr Carl Banini, The Principal of  QSPM Consult, a Quantity Surveyor Fir...

Parents have been advised to inculcate reading habits in their children to improve the standard of oral and written English. Parents are also to endeavour to wean children from adult-oriented media programmes. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Values for Life, a non-governmental organisation with a focus on child development, Ms Dzifa Gomashie, said a lot needed to be done to improve the falling standards of education in the country. The ace actress observed that “although I am an actress, the kind of things we are broadcasting on television and on the air waves are not child-friendly. These are all adult materials that children are watching not because they have a choice but because that is what is available”. “We are parents first and foremost and friends of our children second. If we do not reverse the current trend, we will turn around one day and ask ourselves how our children turned against our expectations,” she stated. Ms Gomashie made the remark at a socialisati...

THE Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) says it will migrate all teachers onto the single spine salary structure by January, 2011. The delay in migrating the teachers onto the new pay structure, according to Mr George Smith Graham, the Chief Executive Officer of the FWSC, followed wide disparities in job evaluation submitted by the consultant for the project, which placed non-teaching staff of the Ghana Education Service (GES) ahead of their teaching counterparts. Mr Graham was addressing members of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) from selected schools in the Accra Metropolis in Accra yesterday to address their concerns about the policy. He said a re-evaluation exercise to correct the differences in the grading system hit a snag because those who turned up and did the re-evaluation on behalf of the teachers were not those appointed by the FWSC, while the non-teaching staff failed to turn up because of miscommunication. He said in that regard, the GNAT an...

  The President of the Rotary Club Achimota , Nana Odeneho Kyeremanten inspecting the project  while other Rotarians look on. THE Rotary Club of Achimota-Accra is constructing a three-classroom block for the inhabitants of Fiakonya near Dodowa in the Dangme West District of the Greater-Accra Region. The project, which is estimated to cost GH¢100, 000, will also involve the construction of other facilities such as  a library, a staff common room and a storeroom. Expected to be completed by the end of this year, the building will serve more than 14 satellite communities in the area. Funding for the project was raised through contributions from members of the club and corporate institutions. The President of the Rotary Club Achimota , Nana Odeneho Kyeremanten, told  to the Daily Graphic at the project site that the club was touched by the plight of the people in the area, especially concerning access to adequate classrooms, to undertake the project. “They ...

  Mrs Dora Agigbire, the Headmistress of the Nkwantanan D/A Primary and JHS receiving a certificate of recognition from Mr Ben Shamo, Head of Money Transfer at the Trust Bank. WESTERN Union (WU), a global leader in money transfer, and it agents in Ghana have presented 600 dual-sitting desks to six selected schools in the Greater Accra, Central, Ashanti and Western regions to help provide a conducive environment for learning. The initiative which was aligned with ’Our World, Our Family’ signature programme of the Western Union Foundation, was aimed at empowering individuals, families and communities to have access to better education and economic opportunities. It had Nkwantanan D/A 5 and 6 Primary and Junior High School (JHS) and the Zakari Kope Primary and JHS in the Greater Accra Region; Nyanfeku Ekroful Catholic JHS in the Central Region; Whindo M/A Primary School in the Western Region and; the Daatano Primary and Penyi Number 1 JHS in the Ashanti Region, each receivi...

THE University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has reaffirmed its resolve to withdraw its services until the actual value of entry-level salaries of its members are restored. “What is at stake is the government’s failure to honour its own promise to restore the entry-level salary of the lecturer as originally agreed with government and pay our genuine arrears spanning from the beginning of 2009 to present,” it said. Addressing a press conference after its meeting in Accra with Vice-chancellors, Ghana, the umbrella body of vice-chancellors of public universities in the country, the National President of UTAG, Dr Samuel Asiedu-Addo, said in spite of the payment schedule the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning (MoFEP) signed and forwarded to UTAG, the ministry failed to pay any of the arrears, adding that the minister had not found it necessary to respond to UTAG’s communication. He said the ministry’s response to UTAG’s withdrawal of service in a letter dated October 6, ...

THE Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof Kwesi Yankah, has made a passionate appeal to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to facilitate the establishment of community libraries throughout the country to rekindle the habit of reading among children. “Concern for our poor reading habit has been expressed, but beyond this I am yet to come across a district or municipal assembly whose infrastructure plan for the year includes the building of a library for respective towns or villages,” he stated. Prof Yankah was speaking at the fourth Toyota/Children’s Literature Foundation (CLiF) Awards in Accra at the weekend. This year’s awards had Mr Ralph Sutherland winning the Illustrator Award for his work on, “Voice in the Forest”, authored by Efua T. Sutherland. The award-winning title went to Afram Publications, while Sub-Saharan Publishers went home with a special award for its role in promoting children’s books in the country. The CLif is a voluntary,...

  Judith Rosemond Sackitey-Ninye, the best student of the school receiving her prize from the DCE for Manya Krobo, Isaac Agbo-Tetteh TWENTY-TWO students and the teachers of the Odumase Presbyterian Junior High School last Friday received surprise packages from Zain Ghana in recognition of their sterling performance in the 2009 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). Each of the 22 graduating students received a certificate and Zain branded stationery, while the best male and female students — Elvis Sawer and Judith Rosemond Sackitey-Ninye — each received a “chop-box” filled with provisions. Zain Ghana rebuilt the school a year ago in response to a Daily Graphic publication of May 17, 2010 and it is now equipped with facilities such as a computer laboratory with Internet access, offices and  a library. The school, which was built in 1883, was in a deplorable state when the company pledged its support in May 2009, after learning about the tragic death of a pupi...

The leadership of the Junior Common Room (JCR) of the  Commonwealth Hall of the University of Ghana has withdrawn the suit challenging the university authorities for attempting to change the status of Commonwealth Hall into a mixed gender graduate hall.                                                                         The Commonwealth Hall Some representatives of the Hall in May this   year  sued the University seeking a number of reliefs including an order restraining the defendant from taking any step to shut down or convert the Commonwealth Hall into a post graduate mixed-gender hall. The plaintiff by ...