African entrepreneurs set to improve education technology

Entrepreneurs in education technology across Africa are to engage in a 'Hackathon'- an event which would bring together computer programmers and others involved in software and hardware development, to develop new paths and methods for sustainable change in social systems.

The event to be held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, from May 17-20, 2015, as part of this year's E-Learning Africa forum would also enable graphic designers, interface designers and project managers to, collaborate intensively on software projects for social good.

A statement issued by the organisers of the event and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, said the event would set to prove whether it is possible to achieve a measurable impact towards sustainable development through fun and engagement.

Iceaddis, a community oriented innovation hub in Addis Ababa is part of the team of organisers, led by GIZ and eLearning Africa.

Markos Lemma, the co-founder of Iceaddis, said it is the first time organisers of the programme have been able to bring 35 people from Africa together to work on social causes using technology.

"I think it's important to have a hackathon on social change because hackathons are a great way to collect ideas in a very informal way. It encourages people to get creative and come up with innovative solutions," said Lemma.

Lemma stated that, as many of Africa's technological entrepreneurs are involved in developing technology-supported educational materials, it is a great opportunity for them to not only show the rest of the continent how the private sector can be involved in education but, display the different e-Learning innovations coming out of Africa.

Under the theme 'Gamification for Social Good', teams of programmers, designers, problem solvers and subject matter experts are required to identify key challenges and problems from a variety of areas - with a particular focus on the African context - such as gamification and green technologies; gamification in education and (vocational) training; or gamification for emergency and disaster management.

Starting at iceaddis, the hackathon will finish up at the eLearning Africa conference on May 20, where teams will present their newly-developed gamified tools - whether it's an app, online platform or immersive environment - to an international audience.

The conference is being co-organised by the African Union and hosted by the Government of Ethiopia, and is expected to attract over 1,200 participants.

The winner will be invited to visit Berlin, Germany, for the 21st edition of OEB in December 2015 - the global, cross-sector conference on technology supported learning and training.

The statement said participation is exclusively for citizens of African countries, with teams coming from throughout the continent - Botswana, Cameroon, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Togo and Zimbabwe.

Source: GNA

Education Ministry to consider inclusive educational system

Accra, May 11, GNA - Professor Sitsofe Anku, the Director of the Meagasa Mathematics Academy, says teachers contribute to the increasing poor performance of students in the study of Mathematics across the country.

Prof Anku said most Mathematics teachers had failed the subject during examinations and decided to use teaching as the last resort to earn money, stressing that teaching was a profession, and needed professional training.The professor made the comments in Accra at a national training of trainers of Mathematics, which brought together some selected basic and Junior High School teachers across the country under the theme “Revamping Mathematics Education in Ghana Through Transformation”.

The training which began from April 27 to May 8, with support from the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service.

The trainers were taken through subjects such as breaking mental barrier in Mathematics, co-operative learning strategies, Mathematics modelling, Algebra, magic square and deductive reasoning on platonic solids.

Prof Anku said the training was necessitated because there had been a massive failure in Mathematics from basic to the tertiary and had become a national concern which needed holistic approach to address the menace.

“If teachers are knowledgeable in Mathematics, it makes it easy for students to comprehend and appreciate the subject thereby impacting positively on their performance,” he added.

He said the country’s curriculum was geared towards preparing for examinations and that their outfits prepared students to be analytical and tackle real life problem solutions.

“Teachers need to understand the principles and methods of mathematics to be able to teach students for easy apprehension and that the Academy has introduced software which help them to understand mathematics concepts”.

He encouraged all students to appreciate the study of Mathematics, since there was Mathematics in every profession, stressing that the Academy would soon launch a book christened “Mathematics Everywhere”, a career guide to motivate students to like mathematics.

Prof Anku said the Academy holds camps for students and workshops for teachers to nurture talents of students in mathematics, adding that students who have gone through the Academy have passed successfully.

“We had students who have failed in mathematics in the West African Senior Secondary School, but the Academy use only three months to teach them and had grade ‘A’ in Mathematics”.

Some of the teachers who spoke with the Ghana News Agency expressed satisfaction about the programme, stating that they have been transformed because the training involves more practical concepts.

They said the training had been beneficial in that they were allowed to explore to come out with their own concepts and derive formulas for them.


Source: Ghana News Agency

We don't take education seriously, how can we compete? – Anis Haffar

Educationist, Anis Haffar, says he is not surprised at all that Ghana secured the unenviable last position on the latest OECD global rankings on Mathematics and Science education.

Ghana was ranked 76th out of the 76 countries surveyed with Singapore and Hong Kong, taking the pride places of Numbers one and two respectively.

Other countries in the lowest ranks together with Ghana are Oman, Morocco, Honduras, South Africa which were ranked 72, 73, 74 and 75 respectively.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which compiled the list, says the comparisons - based on test scores in 76 countries - show the link between education and economic growth.

"This is the first time we have a truly global scale of the quality of education," said the OECD's education director, Andreas Schleicher.

"The idea is to give more countries, rich and poor, access to comparing themselves against the world's education leaders, to discover their relative strengths and weaknesses, and to see what the long-term economic gains from improved quality in schooling could be for them," he said.

Commenting on the rankings and Ghana’s score on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show Wednesday, the education campaigner said key infrastructure and policy direction that should enhance quality education in Ghana are lacking.

“If you look at the top nations – Finland, Singapore, Switzerland and the rest of them – these guys are serious about education. If you look at Finland, for example, they have their best minds in the teaching field - it is more difficult to get into the school of education in Finland than it is to get into medical school,” he said.

Mr. Haffar blamed the moribund educational system in Ghana on the quality of training received by teachers.

He said the lack of application of ICT and low inspiration of teachers conspire to put Ghana in its current situation.

At the Basic Education Certificate Examination level, Anis Haffar said scores of pupils from the Upper East and West, Northern, Volta and Central regions are so low, a situation he said is worrying.

“I’ve taught outside the country and I can tell to the quality of teaching in Ghana; even the environment in which learning takes place; I mean look at our schools here, we don’t even have toilets; we don’t have water t flush toilets; we don’t even have facilities for girls,” he lamented.

These problems negatively affect the cognitive abilities of pupils.

He expressed regret that “In this country, we don’t seem to take education seriously…so I am not surprised by these research findings at all.”

See the rest of the countries and their ranks below:


1. Singapore


2. Hong Kong


3. South Korea


4. Japan (joint)


4. Taiwan (joint)


6. Finland


7. Estonia


8. Switzerland


9. Netherlands


10. Canada


11. Poland


12. Vietnam


13. Germany


14. Australia


15. Ireland


16. Belgium


17. New Zealand


18. Slovenia


19. Austria


20. United Kingdom


21. Czech Republic


22. Denmark


23. France


24. Latvia


25. Norway


26. Luxembourg


27. Spain


28. Italy (joint)


28. United States (joint)


30. Portugal


31. Lithuania


32. Hungary


33. Iceland


34. Russia


35. Sweden


36. Croatia


37. Slovak Republic


38. Ukraine


39. Israel


40. Greece


41. Turkey


42. Serbia


43. Bulgaria


44. Romania


45. UAE


46. Cyprus


47. Thailand


48. Chile


49. Kazakhstan


50. Armenia


51. Iran


52. Malaysia


53. Costa Rica


54. Mexico


55. Uruguay


56. Montenegro


57. Bahrain


58. Lebanon


59. Georgia


60. Brazil


61. Jordan


62. Argentina


63. Albania


64. Tunisia


65. Macedonia


66. Saudi Arabia


67. Colombia


68. Qatar


69. Indonesia


70. Botswana


71. Peru


72. Oman


73. Morocco


74. Honduras


75. South Africa


76. Ghana


Source: Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Malik Abass Daabu

Prempeh Old students refurbish assembly hall

Kumasi, 4 May, GNA - Old students of the Prempeh College (1989/91 Year Group) have refurbished the assembly hall of their alma-mater at a total cost of GH¢150,000.00.

The Osae Hall, which was in bad shape due to years of neglect, has been given a complete new outlook.

The handing over ceremony was timed to coincide with the official launch of the school’s 66th Anniversary speech and prize-giving day in Kumasi, at the weekend.

Mr Yaw Atuahene Nyarko, the Chairman of the Project Committee, said they were confident that the gesture would inspire others to also contribute their quota towards helping to improve the academic environment of the school.

He expressed discomfort with the situation where the school’s main entrance is literally blocked, following the reconstruction of the Kejetia-Abuakwa road into asphaltic concrete dual-carriageway.

Visitors and staff using cars cannot drive through the gate, he said, adding that, this must be corrected by the contractors to end the inconvenience.

Mr Charles Asare, the Managing Director of Ghana Airport Company Limited, also an alumnus of the College, praised the year group for the initiative and said it was refreshing that they had accepted to give back to the school the tremendous benefit gained from it.

Mr Franklin Asamoah, the Board Chairman, spoke of the need for all to work together to enforce discipline in the school to arrest the decline in academic performance.

He said everything should be done to restore the high academic standard, which has been its hallmark over the decades.

Mr Emmanuel Kwabena Yeboah, the Headmaster of the College, said steps have been taken to tackle the growing indiscipline among students.

Source: Ghana News Agency

We’ll resist attempts to push utility bills on students -Takoradi Polytechnic SRC

The Student Representative Council of the Takoradi Polytechnic in the Western Region has said that it will resist any attempt by government to transpose utility payment to students.

According to the student body, it is unfair for government to renege its core functions to students when they are not financially strong to bear the cost.

They say they are surprised by government’s move when it had assured them last semester of not paying utility bills.

President of the Student Representative Council Richard Ziemah in an interview with Citi News said the financial abilities of students in campus have been weakened over the years due to the high cost of school fees and other payments.

“Besides, the Minister in charge of Tertiary Education Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa in a meeting with student’s representatives last year at National Council for Tertiary Education debunked such move and so what has changed?” Richard Ziemah queried.

He says if they are to one day wake up to the proposal been implemented by government, “all student bodies in the country will rise up and vent our grievances to the government”.

The pronouncement by government to wean itself from paying utility bills for all tertiary institutions across the country has received and continues to receive condemnation and criticisms from stakeholders.

– By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Takoradi Polytechnic owes GH¢800,000 in utility bills

The Takoradi Polytechnic in the Western Region owes the Ghana Water Company Limited and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) about GH¢ 80,000.

Information available to Citi News indicates that a sum of GH¢143, 489, is to be paid to the water company, some GH¢721, 625 to the Electricity Company of Ghana.

This debt according to the president of the Students Representative Council of the Takoradi Polytechnic Richard Ziemah is affecting the supply of water and power on campus.

“It has been on and off situation here in campus. At a time when you need water especially in the morning, they will take it off. This problem is as a result of government’s inability to pay the debts owed the utility companies. It is government’s sole responsibility to pay for it, not students.”

Government’s has proposed to transfer 7 percent of utility bills in tertiary institutions across the country to students.

This proposal has been met with stiff opposition from student bodies and other stakeholders.

– By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Mamehyeso Basic School faces imminent closure

Mamehyeso (E/R), April 28, GNA - The Mamehyeso Primary School in the Suhum Municipality will soon be close down if parents continue to withdraw their children from the school.

So far, five of the six teachers in the school have been withdrawn by the Ghana Education Service (GES) as a result of low student population.

A GES official who spoke to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on condition of anonymity said, currently only 15 out of 210 pupils are attending the school.

Parents in the village have withdrawn their children to nearby schools in Tetteh Nkwanta, Adarkwah, Kofiga, Suhum Gariba Zongo Islamic Primary School and Suhum Roman Catholic Primary School.

Some of the children who were withdrawn from the school have dropped out of school and are now truck pushers, coconut sellers, basket weavers, ‘akpeteshie’ distillers, rat and grasscutter hunters, while some of the girls have become pregnant.

The official said the school was established 50 years ago by the Ministry of Education at the request of the community, and so the GES did not understand why the community had decided to neglect the school.

When the Odikro of the village, Nene Amuyaw Ashate was contacted, he confirmed the story and said several warnings by the traditional authorities and elders of the village to parents to stop withdrawing their children from the school had not achieved the desired result.

He said currently, some of the children had to walk for a distance of six kilometers to attend school outside the community.

The Odikro said there were plans for the elders of the town to meet with parents to discuss the issue and find a solution to the challenges facing the school.


Source: Ghana News Agency

University of Ghana acquires software to detect plagiarism

The University of Ghana has deployed software under its current e-Learning platform that detects plagiarism in all forms, from class assignments to project works and other academic work.

The software which is part of the university’s e-Learning management system called Sakai is aimed at enhancing original thought among students and promoting excellent academic work.

The Dean of Distance Learning of the University of Ghana, Legon, Prof. Yaw Oheneba Sekyi, who disclosed this to the media after the 2015 matriculation at the Kumasi Learning Centre, said all the distance learning campuses of the school had been connected through a fibre optic to the main campus at Legon in Accra.

He said the students had also been offered android-based tablets which were web-based and allowed students to access course materials electronically and submit assignments as well as interact among themselves on the same platform.
Vice Chancellor

In a speech read on his behalf, the Vice- Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey, announced that the university recently through the government secured a $37.5 million ICT project for its distance education programme.

He said under the project, the Accra, Koforidua, Sunyani, Takoradi, Tamale, Tsito and Wa learning centres have been equipped with modern facilities with ultra-modern computer laboratories and smart classrooms.

The rest are video conference facilities, backup generating sets and outdoor Wi-Fi, while 3,000 Internet-enabled android tablets, preloaded with relevant teaching and learning materials have been distributed to students.

In all, 1,184 students were enrolled for the 2014/2015 academic year.

Prof. Aryeetey said students admitted for Distance Education this year would have all tutorials and examinations in their centres, without having to come down to Legon as had been the practice.


Source: By Donald Ato Dapatem, Graphic.com.gh

SOS Children’s Villages Ghana launches education project for public schools

SOS Children’s Villages Ghana has launched a four-year project called ‘Quality Education Now’, as part of its efforts to provide quality education to Ghanaian children. The project also forms part of its community intervention efforts to extend its quality education model to deprived communities.

In a keynote address at the launch of the project at Mataheko, near Tema, the acting Deputy Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mrs Elizabeth de-Souza, expressed delight in SOS Children’s Villages’ effort to complement the work of government in the area of education.

Support

She pledged her support and that of the GES to ensure that the desired support was achieved, and called on donors and individuals to visit any of the SOS Villages, so as to become a friend of these children. She personally pledged to become a friend of the children.

SOS Children’s Villages Ghana is well noted for providing quality education in Ghana over the past 40 years through its Hermann Gmeiner Schools in Tema, Asiakwa, Kumasi and Tamale.

The National Director of SOS Children’s Villages Ghana, Mr Alexander Kekula, stressed the importance of the project, saying, “The overall objective of the project is sustainable quality education delivery through empowerment at school, community and district levels”.

He, therefore, challenged stakeholders of children’s education to put in their best so that head teachers, teachers, parent-teacher associations, circuit supervisors and community members would be able to function at the maximum potential, by the end of the next four years when the project comes to an end.

Benefit of education

He said that was necessary for the children to have the full benefit of their education.

In his address, the Chief of Mataheko, Nene Martey Kpongbagbla III, highly commended SOS Children’s Villages Ghana for its continuous effort to ensure care and support for orphans and vulnerable families in society.

He stressed that the change in the world’s system called for traditional, educational, religious and other authorities to team up with relevant partner-institutions such as SOS Children’s Villages Ghana to get a holistic education for all.

Nene Kpongbagbla assured SOS Children’s Villages Ghana of his support as well as that of his people for the project.

The Project Coordinator of ‘Quality Education Now’, Mr Bernard Amoako, asked for the kind support of all the various stakeholders to ensure a successful project.

He said the project was in tandem with the organisation’s vision of “every child belongs to a family and grows with love, respect and security”.

Speaking to the media after the programme, the National Communications and Fundraising Advisor, Nii Commey, stressed that SOS Children’s Villages Ghana, has over the past 40 years been noted for the provision of quality long-term family-based care, adding that the child welfare organisation had been serving deprived communities across the country with more than five thousand beneficiary families.


Source: Daily Graphic

Regent University College of Science and Technology holds open day

The Regent University College of Science and Technology has held an open day to allow parents, guardians and prospective applicants to interact with the school administration on courses offered in the university.
The open day, put together by the final year students of the Event Management class, was also to inform the public about their services as well as offer instant admission to applicants who met the admission requirements.

The Senior Vice President of the university, Mr Albert K.Amonoo, said the school offered a combination of courses which had Information and communications Technology (ICT) integrated in all the courses to help keep students in tune with the changing trends.He said ICT was the backbone of most industries and so it was important to combine it with all other courses.

Mr Amonoo said the school also believed in maintaining smaller and conducive environment as these aided in teaching and learning.

“At Regent we believe that students should be able to interact properly with lecturers as well as study at times convenient for them. For this reason, our timetable is designed to fit the lifestyle of both working and non-working students.” He said.

Mrs Ruth Kukua Ntumy-Fletcher, the lecturer in charge of Event Management, said the exercise was also to allow final year students have a practical feel of how to organise and manage a corporate event.

“Although it is a school event, we allowed the students to coordinate, seek sponsorship and interact with the public so they have a better understanding if what they have been taught in class. We believe that through a project such this, the students would be able to organise events themselves and not necessarily rely on companies to employ them” she explained

She expressed gratitude to Blue skies, Fan Milk and Rising star Montessori for sponsoring the event.


Source: Daily Graphic

70 critical care nurses graduate from School of Peri-Operative and Critical Care Nursing in Accra

The Chief Executive Officer of the National Ambulance Service, Professor Ahmed Zakariah, has urged graduates of the school of Peri-Operative and Critical Care Nursing to exhibit a high sense of professionalism in their practice and deliver exemplary cost effective patient care that would help improve quality delivery in the country.

He advised them to be mindful of their attitude towards patients as the negative behaviour by some of them was tarnishing the image of the profession.

Addressing the 8th congregation of the School of Peri-Operative and Critical Care Nursing in Accra, Prof Zakariah said the nursing profession was one that required total dedication and tolerance.

He, however, assured management of the school of the Ministry of Health’s support to enhance academic work.

In all, 70 students graduated from the Peri-Operative Nursing and Critical Care Nursing. Out of the number, 32 graduated from Peri-Operative with the remaining 38 graduating from Critical Nursing after 15- month training.

Leading the graduates, made up of 54 women and 16 men, to swear the Oath (Nurses pledge), they were charged to be strong advocates of the profession.

The oath binds each nurse to abide by all rules and regulations, and also be of good behaviour while pursuing their careers in order to promote a positive image for the nursing field.

The overall best graduating student award went to Ms Rosemond Agyeiwaa of the Critical Care Nursing.

Collaboration

Delivering the school’s report, the Principal of the School, Mr Kwaku Asante-Krobea, stated that the school would collaborate with other foreign partners to set up a consortium for health skill training in Ghana and extend the partnership to other institutions.

He said the school would expand its present territory by having its own infrastructure adding that the Ministry of Health was on the verge of providing a two-storey building for the school which was expected to be complete by July 2016.

Mr Asante-Krobea cited inadequate staff, lack of permanent campus, inadequate accommodation for students and staff as some of the challenges facing the school.

Currently, Mr Asante-Krobea said the school had achieved a substantial credibility and an image of a post-basic institution that trained specialised nurses in peri-operative and critical nurses.

Piece of advice

Mr Asante-Krobea advised the students to be guided by the values of the school, which were excellence, dedication and tolerance.

The Registrar of the Nurses and Midwifey Council, Mr Felix Kwame Nyanteh, charged the graduates to be good ambassadors where ever they found themselves.

The out-going General Prefect, Mr David Awini, commended the authorities for their immense support towards their spiritual, educational and social upbringing.

He urged his colleagues to go out and work very hard.


- By Selorm Yaw Dovia, Graphic.com.gh

Lecturers at the University of Education Winneba Go Wild

Lecturers at the University of Education Winneba have accused authorities of treating administrators kingly and are thus demanding to use a newly built office complex which has been marked as the registry. According to the lecturers, their accusation stems from the fact that most of them have, for the past 20 years not sat in an office, yet a newly completed office complex (Teku Block 2), built in their name to resolve their long standing office difficulty had been allocated to administrators. “Meanwhile, there is no shred of evidence that administrators lack offices. Even people employed recently have one”, the lecturers lamented. It was noted that one had to attain the position of a Dean or Head a Department to have an office- a situation they indicated destructed their work. Aside the handful that had offices, the lecturers revealed that some of them pass through lecture halls to access their office, and that, “Student desks block the entrances; thereby trapping the lecturer in that tiny office till the 3-hour lecture was over. Imagine if you need to use the wash room”. As a result, many have had to resort to using the shades of trees and the trunk of their cars as offices. In addition to the inadequacy of offices, there is a salary impasse between lecturers and administrators of which lecturers have expressed worry. The lecturers also took government to task on the books and research allowance administrators received and alleged it was only lecturers that do research for promotions. In an exclusive interview with The New Crusading GUIDE last Wednesday, at the North campus, the National President of University Teachers Association Ghana (UTAG), Dr. Samuel Ofori Bekoe, confirmed the situation the lecturers found themselves in and reiterated that that office building “which is being shared in the dark to administrators” originally had the Lecturers Office Annex when the school bid for the facility at GETFund. He said he was clear in his mind because he was part of the development committee that saw to infrastructural development, adding, that it was even mentioned repeatedly during academic meetings.   The president could not understand why administrators already had offices and still the new building would be added on to theirs. He acknowledged the tremendous improvement in the area of infrastructure seen in the past 8 years reign of the Vice Chancellor, Professor Asabre, but accused him of neglecting the core persons (lecturers) of the university and all they got when they complained was the word ‘wait’. He observed that if wider consultations had been done with lecturers and students before the project begun, things would have been much better than the situation they have at hand now. Christopher Akwaa-Mensah, the Registrar, after admitting to the problems in office accommodation described as mischievous the actions by lecturers that about 90 percent of the office challenges had been resolved already. Displaying a building plan in front of this reporter, Mr. Akwaa-Mensah denied that Teku block 2 was originally for lecturers, adding that, lecturers were supposed to be in faculties and not separate office complex. “Indeed administrators needed offices more than lecturers because administrators could lose documents belonging to the school but the lecturers; they can sit in their cars, revise and proceed to teach”, the registrar noted. The Registrar pointed out that there were other infrastructure projects going on their campuses and that it was a matter of time and the issue of offices would be a thing of the past. Nevertheless, he assured them of the completion of an Education Faculty soon, to accommodate scores of lecturers in addition to the hall of residence at the Central campus converted into offices, to benefit lecturers of Creative Arts Department. Responding to the comments of the Registrar, Dr. Ofori Bekoe said they were not complaining about the location of the office because lecturers have been driving from home all the time to teach.

Source: New Crusading Guide

FINAL WARNING: Stop Charging Unapproved Fees - Ghana Education Service

The Ghana Education Service (GES) has warned that it cannot guarantee the continuous stay in office of heads of public schools who flout the guidelines for the collection of school fees and levies. Therefore, for the last time, the GES has asked all heads of public second cycle schools across the country to correct any irregularity or illegality they might have committed already, in their attempt to generate revenue especially the cost build up of students bills before they are found out to face the full rigours of the law. The Acting Deputy Director General of the GES, Mrs Elizabeth Dessousa sounded the warning at a day’s seminar in Kumasi on Guidelines for School Fees and Levies for some management members of second cycle schools. The participants, who were from the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions constituting the Kumasi Zone, were made up of Headmasters, Accountants, Internal Auditors in addition to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Directors of Education. The Acting Deputy Director-General of the GES emphasized that access to basic and secondary education is a right for every Ghanaian child. For this reason, school managers should not do anything that could suggest that second cycle education in the country is being sold in favour of the highest bidder. Mrs Dessousa admitted the challenges school heads go through in collecting particularly school fees especially those with students in the final years. This should however not be the excuse for any school authority to charge unapproved fees, adding that hence forth, schools have been barred from coming out with Supplementary Bills, while the demand for school fees for ensuing terms should cease or the offenders must be prepared to face the consequences thereof. The Chief Internal Auditor of the GES, Bismark Akandi, said the Guideline for School Fees and Levies clearly spell out the financial responsibilities of both the government on one hand, and guardians on the other, and that guardians can negotiate with school authorities to pay their wards’ school fees in installment. Mr Akandi also stressed the warning to school heads not to use the cost of education to discriminate between the rich and poor.

Source: Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC)

3 more teachers arrested in Adjena Secondary Technical School exam fraud

Three more teachers at the Adjena Secondary Technical School in the Eastern Region have been arrested for allegedly helping students cheat in the ongoing West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE).

This brings to six the number of people arrested in connection with the exam malpractice.

The arrests follow Joy News’ investigation which revealed how a syndicate is leaking examination papers and compromising the entire 2015 West Africa exams.

Public Relations Officer at the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service, Joseph Benefo Darkwa, says the suspects will be sent to court before Wednesday.

"We have in addition to the trio who were arrested, intelligence have led to the arrest of another three people," he told Joy FM.

"We are still investigating. After investigations, we will be able to tell which people are culpable.

"If we finish with our investigations, then they will be put before court today but if we are not through with our investigations then we will send them to court tomorrow.

"But we are hoping that we complete our investigations today," he assured.

Source: Ghana|Myjoyonline.com

The University of Ghana holds three simultaneous matriculation at Distance Education (DE) Learning Centres.

Accra, April 27, GNA – The University of Ghana (UG) for the first time, has held three simultaneous matriculation at its Accra City Campus, Kumasi, and Tamale Distance Education (DE) Learning Centres.

Matriculants at the Accra City Campus were drawn from Accra, Cape Coast, Tsito, Koforidua and Takoradi Learning Centres, while that of the Kumasi and Sunyani centres took place in Kumasi; whereas the Tamale centre hosted students from Tamale, Bolgatanga and Wa centres.

Addressing the matriculants at the Accra City Campus, Professor Ernest Ayittey, the Vice Chancellor (VC) of UG, said, for the first time, matriculation ceremonies were being held concurrently in three regional learning centres, as part of the long-term goal to transform the regional centres into satellite campuses of the University.

He said there had being a number of changes in the DE mode of the University starting from  the 2014/2015 academic year which aimed at improving on delivery and making the distance learning mode more attractive to students.

The VC mentioned that one of such changes was the restructuring and expansion of the programmes on offer.

Prof Ayittey announced that programmes being offered had been expanded to include Nursing and Information Technology.

He said the Nursing programme, run in conjunction with the School of Nursing, had proven to be particularly popular in most regional centres.

He disclosed that a total of 653 applications were received this academic year for Nursing, out of which 513 were admitted and 450 enrolled, representing 38 per cent of the total number of enrolled DE students.

The VC said the Bachelor of Science in Administration and Bachelor of Arts programmes remained popular choices for their DE students, with 346 and 367 students respectively accepting offers this academic year.

He pointed out that there were 21 students enrolled in their newly-introduced Bachelor of Science programme in Information Technology, which for this academic year was being offered at the Accra City Campus.

On the general enrolment, the VC observed that figures for the 2014/2015 academic year were up from last year’s figure of 775 to 1184, representing a 52 per cent increase.

“We are working hard as a University to not only to increase the numbers of our students in the Distance Learning mode, but also to improve the facilities and learning experiences that our students have,” Prof Ayittey stated.

“Starting from this year, DE students were admitted to their regional centres, and with the improvement of facilities in the centres, the students will have all tutorials and examinations in their centres, without having to come down to Legon, as has been the practice over the years,” he added.

He said the collegiate system which was implemented at the beginning of this academic year would provide more room for innovations at the school and college levels, and the semi-autonomous nature of the colleges would enable them take more decisions on their academic programmes and administration.

Prof Ayittey recounted that the University recently inaugurated a $ 37.5 million Information Communication Technology (ICT) project for its DE programme under the Chinese Phase Two ICT Project.

He said the project, funded with a Chinese Government loan procured by the Ghana Government on behalf of UG, had deployed an integrated Digital Mobile Learning platform for DE.

“This is part of a larger set of activities reflecting the strong desire of UG to use ICT as a major strategy in achieving its future goals,” Prof Ayittey said.

The VC said as part of the project, the Accra, Koforidua, Sunyani, Takoradi, Tsito and Wa Centres had been equipped with modern facilities; with each centre provided with ultra-modern computer labs, smart classrooms, a video conference facility, backup generators and outdoor Wi-Fi.

He noted that in addition, as part of the project; 3000 internet enabled android tablets had been acquired; pre-loaded with the relevant teaching and learning materials, and distributed to newly admitted students.

Prof Ayittey said the DE programme was therefore, in the process of moving away from paper-based teaching materials to Sakai, an eLearning platform, which has enhanced teaching and learning.

“Also as part of the plan to grow regional learning centres into campuses of the University, work has started on the rehabilitation and refurbishment of the regional learning centres,” the VC said.

Prof Ayittey further urged the students to take their studies seriously and determine to be part of the 2017 and 2018 graduating classes for those admitted to level 200 and 100 respectively.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Anglican University College of Technology appeals for assistance

Nkoranza (B/A), April 26, GNA – The Authorities of the Anglican University College of Technology at Nkoranza in the Brong-Ahafo Region have appealed to the First Lady, Mrs. Lordina Mahama to assist the Institution to set up three Health Programmes to enhance its development.

According to the University, the Programmes include Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Diploma in Midwifery and Health Assistants.

Reverend Canon Dr. Joe Eyison, the Dean of the School of Food and Health Science of the University made the appeal on behalf of the Institution through the Omanhene of Nkoranza, Okatakyie Agyeman Kudom, when the First Lady paid a courtesy call on the Omanhene at his Palace on Wednesday.

Rev. (Dr.) Eyison said the University had been given the clearance by the Nursing and Midwifery Council to run the three Programmes in the 2015/2016 Academic Year and would therefore need the support of the First Lady to be able to articulate the plans.

He stressed that the Institution had contracted the services of MEVEGA Consortium to draw a curriculum and identified the list of books and equipment that would lead it to get accreditation from the National Accreditation Board (NAB) to start work on the three Programmes.

Rev.(Dr) Eyison identified inadequate classrooms, lack of skills laboratories for the General Nursing and Midwifery as well as inadequate Recommended Text-books as major challenges facing the University, emphasizing that, the position was militating against the immediate take off of the Programmes, hence imploring Mrs Mahama for her assistance in that direction.

The Dean of School of Food and Health Science of the University expressed the hope that the establishment of the three Programmes would serve the people of Nkoranza and its environs and even the entire country to fill the manpower requirement to meet the Millennium Development Goals Four(4) and Five(5).

Okatakyie Agyeman Kudom added his voice to the University’s request and urged the Government to come to its aid, as a way to expand the Academic Programmes of the Institution.

The Omanhene praised Mrs. Mahama for assisting them with a number of development programmes to complement the efforts of Government to improve the lifestyles of the people of the area.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Increase financial literacy in education system – Professor William Steel

Accra, April 27, GNA - Professor William Steel, an Adjunct Professor of the University of Ghana’s Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research, has called for greater inclusion of financial literacy in Ghana’s education system.

He cited one instance where some remarkable finance educational materials which were being used in Zambia, were found to have Ghanaian origins: the materials exist in Ghana but are not being employed in teaching and learning.

The Adjunct Professor was speaking on the theme: “The Role of Financial Services in Poverty Reduction and Social Inclusion in Ghana,” at the annual general meeting of the Brandeis Graduate Association of Ghana in Accra.

He said poverty reduction, social and financial inclusion efforts for the marginalized in society, such as the provision of micro-finance services, must embed more financial literacy for the targeted low income earners and for the younger generation as well. 

“In Ghana, the good news is that financial services have been extended to many people, but the bad news is the interest rates; and many people are not very literate to know what they are getting into,” Prof Steel said.

The Brandeis Graduate Association of Ghana which is the Ghanaian alumni association of Brandeis University in Massachusetts, was inaugurated in 2014 with the aim of reducing poverty and improving access of the deprived in society, to education and health.

Mr Samuel Kwotuah, President of Brandeis Graduate Association of Ghana, said the self-funding association was not in a rush to design and execute its projects as they need to be designed carefully to be feasible.

He disclosed that in the near future, the organization would be going into policy dialogue with government.

“We will be taking some of the policies, trying to analyze those policies and see how the policies will have impact on Ghanaians and what advice we can give to government so that we would be able to implement laudable policies”, the President said.

Source: GNA

COCOBOD increases scholarships to farmers wards

Akyem Sekyere (E/R), April 25, GNA - The COCOBOD has increased its scholarships to the children of cocoa farmers in various public Senior High Schools from 3,500 to 5,000 students annually.

The increase is to enable more children of cocoa farmers to have access to secondary education, and it takes effect from the 2014/15 academic year.

The Deputy Administrative Manager of COCOBOD Scholarship Scheme, Mr Joe Baah announced this at a cocoa farmer’s forum in the Osino District on cocoa health and good farming methods at Akyem Sekyere near Anyinam.

He said forms for the scholarship had been sent to the quality control division offices for collection by cocoa farmers on behalf of their wards.

Mr Baah said some of the scholarship forms had also been sent to public Senior High Schools.

Mr Eric Owusu, of the Public Affairs Department of COCOBOD said, government has released $150 million for the rehabilitation of roads in cocoa producing areas to enable cocoa farmers to get their cocoa to the purchasing centers.

He said, 50 million high yielding cocoa seedlings would be distributed free to cocoa farmers for planting this farming season and urged the farmers to take advantage of it to expand their cocoa farms to increase yields.

The Eastern Regional Manager of Cocobod, Mr Samuel Gyimah Gyemfi said, large quantities of liquefied and solid fertilizers would be distributed freely to cocoa farmers this farming season and urged the farmers to register with their various farming groups for proper identification and distribution of the seedlings and fertilizer.

Mr Gyemfi said the reduction in the country’s cocoa production was due to aging cocoa trees and infertility of the soil and advised farmers to cut down their cocoa trees which are over 38 years and replant them with hybrid seedlings and apply the required fertilizer to increase productivity.

Mr John owusu, a farmer, on behalf of the District Chief Cocoa Farmer, appealed to government to stop releasing cocoa farms to coal mining companies.

The District Cocoa Officer,Mr Emmanuel Graham, advised cocoa farmers to adopt improved methods of farming and plant high yielding cocoa seedlings to increase their yields.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Ashesi University College - Entry Requirements

Ghanaian Nationals

1. Completed application form, including personal essays.
2. High School transcripts.
3. One of the following examination results is required:

• West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE). Six subjects are used to calculate your standard WASSCE score: Integrated Science, Core Math, Core English and three electives. A minimum grade of C6 in each subject is required to apply. 
• IGCSE/GCE ‘O’ Level and at least three ‘A’ Level passes (with grade A-D)
• International Baccalaureate(IB) certificate or IB Diploma
• French Baccalaureate (a certified copy of the original score and a certified translated copy in English)
• Other equivalent exam results approved by the National Accreditation Board of Ghana

International Students

In addition to meeting the requirements described for Ghanaian nationals, applications from International students must meet the following requirements:

• Certified Translation: Transcripts or other supporting documents submitted by international applicants in a language other than English must be translated and certified as copies of the original document(s).
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL): International students for who English is a second language must submit a TOEFL score. The minimum passing grade required is 80 for the Internet Based Test (iBT).

Transfer Students

In line with the University of Cape Coast (UCC) academic rules and regulation policy, all students that transfer into Ashesi must begin as first year students. Ashesi does not accept transfers into the 2nd, 3rd or 4th year of our academic program.

In order to secure admission, transfer candidates must provide official transcripts from each college or university attended. It is your responsibility to ensure that an official transcript has been received from each institution attended in order to complete your application.

Christian Service University College - General Requirements for Admission

The minimum qualification to gain admission into any of our degree programmes includes the following:

1. SSSCE credit passes (A-D) in six (6) subjects: three (3) electives plus, three (3) core subjects including English Language, Mathematics, and Integrated Science or Social Studies. Aggregate score should not exceed 24.

2. WASSCE credit passes(A1-C6) in six (6) ) subjects: three(3) electives plus, three (3) core subjects including English Language, Mathematics, and Integrated Science or Social Studies. The aggregate score should not exceed 36.

3. ABCE holders with at least, passes in three (3) subjects, one of the passes should be grade D or better plus, at least, five (5) credit passes of the GBCE including English Language, Mathematics and Integrated Science/Social Studies.

4. Mature Candidates must not be less than 27 years at the time of admission and should have, at least, five years considerable working experience. Mature applicants will be required to enroll in a 6-week course, write an entrance examination, and attend an interview if successful.

Mature applicants must show proof of age with a legitimate document that is at least 5 years old, provide introductory letter and show any proof of employment.

5. Entry Requirements for Higher National Diploma (HND) Qualifications:
The applicant must have graduated with at least 2nd Class lower division from a recognised Polytechnic.

Applicants are supposed to have credit/good passes of the SSSCE/WASSCE which would have occasioned his/her successful admission into the HND programme. Placement would be based on qualification.
Applicants with Post-Sec Teacher’s Cert ‘A’ or Diploma in Education who are also in possession of GCE ‘O level/SSSCE/WASCE good passes with aggregate score not exceeding 24 with respect to SSSCE and 36 of the WASSCE may apply.


ENTRY REQUIREMENTS FOR BSC. NURSING

In line with the admission requirements of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (K.N.U.S.T), to which the Nursing Programme is affiliated, one of the following academic requirements is needed for admission:

I. SSSCE Holders: Applicants should have credits (A-D) in THREE Core Subjects (English Language, Mathematics and Integrated Science), plus credits in THREE (3) Elective Subjects: Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. The aggregate score should not exceed 24, for level 100 placement.

OR

WASSCE Holders: Applicants should have credits (A1-C6) in THREE Core Subjects (English Language, Mathematics and Integrated Science), plus credits in THREE (3)Elective Subjects: Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. The aggregate score should not exceed 36. Applicants will be admitted to L 100.

II. Mature Applicants: Applicants must be at least 25 years at the time of submitting the application form. The applicant should have EITHER

Five (5) credits at the O’ Level including English Language and Mathematics or Credits in SSSCE /WASSCE Core English Language, Mathematics and Integrated Science and threeelective subjects with an aggregate not exceeding 24/36 respectively. Applicants would write an entry examination and pass an interview at the end, to guarantee level 100 placement; OR

A State Registered Nursing Certificate (SRN) with a minimum of FIVE years working experience /Public Health Nurses with ONE (1) year or more of practice who hold RGN/Post-Basic Nursing Programme Certificate. Applicants would write an entry examination and pass an interview at the end in order to guarantee L 200 placement.


III. Holders of the Registered General Nursing (RGN) Diploma with at leastTHREE (3) years’ working experience and a good pass at the Diploma level may be admitted to L 300 of the degree programme after a successful interview.