Free SHS education to begin next academic year

The Minister of Education, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang says the programme to make second cycle education more accessible, especially in underserved areas, is on course.

To give greater meaning to the programme, the government initiated a project to build 200 community day secondary schools in selected communities.

The President cut the sod for the commencement of the first phase of the project with the construction of 50 schools on March 3, 2014 at Kwaobaah-Nyanoa, near Adeiso in the Upper West Akyem District of the Eastern Region.

When the education ministry took its turn at the meet the press series in Accra Tuesday, Prof Opoku Agyemang said the 50 schools in selected communities were at various stages of completion.

She said the government’s policy of the progressive free SHS education would begin as announced in the 2015/2016 academic year for more than 367,565 second cycle students.

Additionally, she said, with support from the World Bank under the Secondary Education Improvement Project (SEIP), the construction of 23 new schools, with bungalows for staff and heads, facilities improvement for 50 existing schools, quality improvement for 125 existing schools and the provision of scholarships for 10,400 students were all progressing.

Highlights

The minister gave progress reports on the 20 educational institutions and agencies under the ministry.

She gave some of the highlights as improvements in teacher training and professional development, the institution of a best school award this year and the standardisation of school fees across the country.

On teacher training and development, the goal was to increase the numbers and quality of trained teachers in language, Mathematics and Science, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said that a teacher career progression policy to guide the licensing and registration of teachers, as well as an appraisal system to measure teacher effectiveness as a criteria for promotion had been instituted.

On the institution of best schools award, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said it would be an expansion of the Best Teacher Award initiative.

She said a committee of teacher unions, representations from teaching universities, past best teacher coordinators, retired directors of education and chairpersons of best teacher assessment panels were helping the ministry to expand the best teacher award scheme to cover the acknowledgement of schools.

The objective, she explained, would be to reward teaching and support services.

On the standardisation of school fees, the minister said all stakeholders had held consultative discussions to agree on standardised fees, based on the needs of schools.

Campus connect

Prof. Opoku Agyemang said the Campus Connect initiative, instituted to strengthen relations between the government and the student body, would be strengthened in fulfilment of the President’s pledge to promote accountable and transparent governance.

Social Interventions

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said a procurement process for locally made leather shoes had been completed for the shoes to be distributed to needy school children.

She said the ministry was also currently procuring 500,000 school uniforms and 15 million exercise books to be distributed to 36,686 basic schools.

Source:  Caroline Boateng, Graphic Online

Ghanaian graduates laud Australia scholarship programme

The Australian High Commission Accra has welcomed home 39 Ghanaians who studied under its Australia Awards Scholarships Programme.

Sixteen completed up to two years Masters degree and 23 completed short courses in the focus areas of agriculture, mining, and public policy.

Speaking at a short festive event to welcome them at the residence of the Australian High Commissioner, Ms Joanna Adamsony, the Australian High Commissioner, noted that 217 Ghanaians have received the awards since 2010.

She remarked, “The Australia Government is pleased to offer this Awards program to Ghana. It is an investment in the development of Ghanaian men and women leaders, and a valuable investment in the future of Ghana.”

The Australia Awards Scholarships program aims to provide high quality tertiary education and training to talented Ghanaians who will be in a position on their return home to make an important contribution in Ghana. Most of the awardees are now employed across a cross-section of government ministries and civil societies.

“Through the Alumni network, we are keen to maintain contact and hear about achievements of Awardees back in Ghana”, she said.

Fuseini Lansah, Registrar of the Scholarship Secretariat, said recipients of the Australian scholarship are expected to play the role of change agents in their fields of endeavour.

He prayed for a lasting relationship between Ghana and Australia to enable more emerging leaders to benefit from the scholarship.

About 100 Ghanaians, also Australian alumni, joined the celebrations

Ishmael Brown, President of the Ghana Australia Alumni Association (G3A) encouraged Ghanaian awardees to join the Australia Awards Ghana Alumni Network to share experiences with each other and stay in contact with Australia.

Commending the Australian government for the opportunity given the awardees, he observed that beneficiaries are making diverse contributions towards Ghana’s development.

A beneficiary, Eugene Asante Boateng of the Lands Commission who did his maters in sustainability at University of Monash, Melbourne, touted the benefits of the award.

He told myjoyonline.com he returned to Ghana as an “authentic leader”. The kind of leadership skills where one does things from within for the benefit of society and not being parochial, he explained.

One thing he would also not forget is how education is structured in Australia that gives room for continuity and progress, he said.

Another awardee, Isaac Kojo Arah of Ho Polytechnic, who obtained Masters of Science in Agriculture from the University of New England was wowed by facilities available at his disposal which made learning easy.

Aside the knowledge acquired in the field of agriculture, he said he learnt a lot about student-teacher relationship which he said would influence how he relates with his students.

The Awards program offers Masters level and short course awards. The next round of applications will open on 1 September 2015 and further information can be obtained via:www.australiaawardsafrica.org. In promoting gender equality, women have been encouraged to apply.

Currently, there are 14 Ghanaians studying in Australia under the Australia Awards Scholarships program.


Source: Ghana | Myjoyonline.com

Beneficiaries of Government scholarship in 7 regions receive package

More than 10,000 senior high school students are to benefit from the government’s scholarship of $500 each over the next three years.

The scholarship scheme is being implemented under the Secondary Schools Improvement Project (SEIP), which is funded by the World Bank.

The scholarship will cover approved school fees and levies, transport to school or bicycles, school uniforms, house dresses, physical education kits, school shoes and bags, relevant stationery and supplementary readers.

The criteria used in selecting beneficiary students indicates that the student must be an orphan; one who takes care of herself or himself; a physically challenged student without support; a student who has sickle cells; a student living with HIV and AIDS; or a student in a household with income below the minimum wage.

In Accra, the Ministry of Education gave scholarships to 2,300 students who were selected to benefit from a scholarship programme for the 2014/2015 academic year at a ceremony yesterday.

The beneficiaries were from the Greater Accra, Central, Eastern and the Volta regions, while similar presentations were made simultaneously in other parts of the country.

Each beneficiary student will be entitled to $500 per annum for three years.

Purpose of scholarship

In a speech read on her behalf, the Minister of Education, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang explained that the purpose of the scholarship scheme was to provide support to needy students and aimed at increasing enrolment, improving retention and completion rates, as well as improving students’ academic performance, among others.

Beneficiaries

The 2,300 beneficiaries, she explained, were part of the SEIP Project which sought to give scholarships to 10,400 students from low-income families, comprising 6,400 girls and 4,000 boys, over a three-year period, to enable them to complete their secondary level education.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said the selection process was managed by a team including the district directors of education, heads of beneficiary schools, district girls education officers, assembly members and members of District Education Oversight Committees (DEOCs).

Disbursement

On the disbursement, Professor Opoku-Agyemang said specific guidelines had been put in place to ensure that the managers adhered to disbursement criteria.

As part of the guidelines, the list of all beneficiaries must be posted on the noticeboards of schools, district education offices and district assemblies, and parents of the beneficiaries invited to the schools to be briefed on the scholarship scheme, including its administration and payments to beneficiaries.

A similar presentation ceremony was held in Kumasi, reports Donald Ato Dapatem.

Presenting the cheques to the heads of 50 schools in the Brong Ahafo, Ashanti and Western regions, a Deputy Minister of Education, Mr Alex Kyeremeh, said schools must deduct arrears owed by students for the first and second terms of the 2014/2015 academic year and pay the difference to the parents and guardians of the scholarship beneficiaries.

World ranking

The Deputy Minister debunked a recent report by the BBC that an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ranking of educational levels placed Ghana at the last position.

He said Ghana was not a member of the OECD countries and, therefore, could not be assessed.


Source: Written by Severious Kale-Dery & Donald Ato Dapatem, Graphic Online(graphic.com.gh)

African Finance Business (afb) Ghana Limited Launches Operation “BEST”

African Finance Business (afb) Ghana Limited, a leading Financial Services company in Ghana has deepened its support to the country's education sector. This follows the presentation of over 5,000 notebooks to over 50 basic schools across the length and breadth of the country.

The beneficiary schools included: All Saint JHS, Big Ada DC Basic JHS both in the Greater Accra Region; Achiase Methodist JHS; Akim Oda Presby JHS A&B; Wesley Methodist JHS; and Holy Quoran JHS in the Ashanti, Eastern, Western and Central regions respectively.
While South Ridge Model JHS; Taha JHS; Abokobisi D/A JHS; and Wa Municipal Model JHS in the Brong Ahafo, Northern, Upper East, and Upper West regions also benefited from the support.

The presentation dubbed - Operation Building Educational Success Together (Operation BEST), according to branch managers of the company, formed part of giving back to the communities they operate in.

Commenting on the nationwide exercise, the Managing Director of afb Ghana, Arnold Parker explained that the company chose to support education because it is the bedrock for the socio-economic development of the country. He further asserted that the exercise is part of the company’s many corporate social initiatives for 2015.

"We believe in empowering young people to achieve their dreams that is why we are extending this support to make their studies comfortable", he explained.
Mr. Parker therefore admonished students to take their studies very seriously and shun acts that would endanger their education.

He also used the opportunity to assure Ghanaians that the company would continue to channel resources into education and other sectors of the economy to better the lot of many.

Receiving the books, headmasters of the beneficiary schools said they were elated about the afb's gesture and thanked the management and staff of the financial Services firm for their support.
According to them, the support would go a long way to improve teaching and learning in the schools.
They urged other corporate bodies to emulate the example of afb by donating generously to the schools.

afb Ghana, is one of the largest finance Houses in Ghana with over 80,000 customers and a presence in 23 locations in all ten regions across the country.

The Company is part of the AFB Group which undertakes Financial Services in Kenya, Mauritius, Zambia, Tanzania and South Africa.


Source: Peacefmonline.com

Adansi Rural Bank awards scholarships to students

The Adansi Rural Bank Limited at Fomena in the Adansi North District in Ashanti Region has offered scholarships to seven needy but brilliant students to continue their education.

The acting General Manager, Mr Akwasi Osei Nkrumah, explained that the gesture was a renewed commitment by the bank to pay extra attention to its corporate social responsibility, particularly in the area of education.

He said the parents and guardians of the beneficiaries were shareholders of the bank and hailed from the Adansi area.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr Ahmed Kwame Boakye, said the financial assistance would encourage beneficiaries of the scheme to study extra hard to be able to develop their full potential so that they could contribute their quota to national and community development.

A beneficiary of the package, who is currently studying for his Masters’ programme at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Mr Emmanuel Kofi Asamoah, used the opportunity to advise the seven students who had been enrolled onto the scheme to study hard.

The Queenmother of the Adansi Traditional Area, Nana Amoanimaa Dede, expressed gratitude to the bank for the initiative.


Source: Daily Graphic

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

2015 Essay Competition for African Students

Entries will be received between March 26 and June 26 ,2015. 

Announcement of winners: July 29 , 2015. 

The Nation Newspaper-Nigeria in collaboration with African Liberty Organzation for Development (ALOD) and Network for a Free Society (NFS), is calling for entries into the 2015 essay competition.

Essay Question: Government regulations and controls are the biggest threat to jobs in Africa today . Discuss using practical examples.

Qualification: All African Students in any Tertiary Institutions (University, Polytechnic, College of Education and Technical Schools) in Africa. 

The format of the text should be in MS Word and not more than 1,500 words. 

Interested students can visit: www.networkforafreesociety.org for useful background materials. 

Please be honest in your citations of other works. 

On the first page of the completed essay, please write your full names, department, and year of study and name of institution. 

Also include your email address and mobile phone number. 

Send your entries to adedayo.thomas@gmail.com

Entries will be received between March 26 and June 26 ,2015. 

No late entries will be accepted. 

Announcement of winners: July 29 , 2015.


PRIZES

1st- Named after George Ayittey (Platinum Prize): 
$1,000 and scholarship to the 2015 Liberty Camp in Kenya from August 5-9, 2015 OR The 8th IMANI Students and Young Professional African Liberty Academy (SYPALA) in Ghana from August 19-23, 2015

2nd-Named after Anthony Fisher (Gold Prize):
$700 and scholarship to the 2015 Liberty Camp in Kenya from August 5-9, 2015 OR The 8th IMANI Students and Young Professional African Liberty Academy (SYPALA) in Ghana from August 19-23, 2015

3rd-Named after Franklin Cudjoe (Silver Prize) : 
$500 and scholarship to the 2015 Liberty Camp in Kenya from August 5-9, 2015 OR The 8th IMANI Students and Young Professional African Liberty Academy (SYPALA) in Ghana from August 19-23, 2015

4th-Named after CampusLife-The Nation Newspaper( Media Bronze Prize): 
Scholarship to the 2015 Liberty Camp in Kenya from August 5-9, 2015 OR The 8th IMANI Students and Young Professional African Liberty Academy (SYPALA) in Ghana from August 19-23, 2015

We also have eight consolation prize of $50 each.

Testimony from previous winners

“I was a prize winner of this competition in 2010, today,
I am a partner of the organization and its international allies”...Japheth Omojuwa (Nigeria)

'As a past winner of the the essay competition, exposed me to a treasure trove of opportunities, I have benefited from a treasure trove of; resources and a fellowship with friends in Africa and across the globe who are dedicated foot-soldiers in valiant fight for freedom across the world...
Alex Njeru -The 20110 1st Prize Winner as a student of Maseno University(Kenya )

'Chofor Che Christian-Aimé,--- winner of AfricanLiberty.org essay contest in 2010, is a senior civil servant in the governing administration of Cameroon. (Cameroon)

'This is a dream come true. I'm happy because my experience as the winner has helped deepen by knowledge about an urgent need for promotion of liberty in Africa. A cause I hoped to be fully committed to for a very long time...Adeloye Olanrewaju Samuel -1st Prize Winner-2014.Department of Physiology . Ladoke Akintola University of Technology. Ogbomoso, Oyo State. (Nigeria)'

'Freedom is the principal thing in actualizing the full potentials of individuals in every society...Gracious Odala Balamu- 2014 Second Prize Winner,Department if Philosophy.Chancellor College.University of Malawi. (Malawi)"


Source: Franklin Cudjoe, IMANI Ghana