BMGEducationNews (2024)

29/11/2022

SOGASCO marks 60 years with grand durbar ..

Sogakope Senior High School (SOGASCO) in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region last Saturday rounded up its 60th anniversary celebration with a grand durbar.

The durbar which was on the theme: Leveraging ICT Education for National Development, attracted staff, students, former staff, traditional rulers, political leaders and a large representation of the old students.

A Technical Adviser at the Ministry of Education (MOE), Sheila Naah Boamah, who was the guest of honour, said technological advancement was constantly changing the dynamics of industries.

Those changes, she said, were readily evident in the banking, e-commerce, entertainment, communication, health, transportation and education sectors.

For that matter, Mrs Boamah pointed out that information technology could not be kept out of the country’s education system.

“The need to integrate technology into our educational system is a key reform agenda and a lot of policies and actions are ongoing to ensure a systematic integration and the use of ICT in all schools,” she stressed.

Mrs Boamah affirmed that the MoE was aware ICT had become the most powerful way to drive competitiveness, economic growth and social development, and for that matter ICT must be made available in all schools to facilitate teaching and learning.

In the same vein, she said the Education Strategic Plan had an ambitious target to restructure the humanities-science ratio from the current 60:40 in favour of the humanities to 60:40 in favour of the sciences in tertiary institutions by 2030.

The technical adviser, therefore, urged the alumni of SOGASCO, the Parent Teacher Association and school authorities to collaborate and take the appropriate steps to get more students to opt for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) as they climbed the academic ladder.

“We must intervene because our world of work has been significantly impacted by technology and if the present students must enjoy successful careers in future, it must start with the decisions we make on their behalf now,” she added.

Mrs Boamah congratulated SOGASCO for producing men and women of substance for the nation over the past six decades, saying the celebration provided a platform to recognise the sacrifices of those who helped in various ways to give birth to the school and keep it in track over the years.

The Headmaster, Newman H. K. Dziedzoave, said the school which took off in November 1961 with 13 students, made up of nine boys and four girls, now had an enrolment of 3,606.

In spite of that phenomenal increase in student population, he said SOGASCO had never been provided with a pickup vehicle to support administrative work.

He said currently, the school’s two buses were in a horrible state and often broke down in the middle of journeys to locations outside the school.

Mr Dziedzoave said lack of an assembly hall was a big challenge facing the school, and appealed for a 5,000-seating capacity assembly hall to relieve it of that discomfort.

The headmaster added that the school also needed an 18-unit classroom block to accommodate students with ease.

He said despite the challenges, SOGASCO had since its establishment performed creditably academically, with its products contributing to national development in various sectors.

The Paramount Chief of the Fieve traditional area, Togbega Agama Amata V, also a renowned lawyer and an old student of SOGASCO who chaired the durbar, entreated the students to study diligently towards a bright future.

22/08/2022

Ukraine Return Students In Panic As Universities Plan To Resume Offline Classes, Exams

Some universities in Kiev, capital of war-hit Ukraine, have informed students about resumption of offline classes from September and mandatory examination "Krok" to be conducted in October in offline mode.

Six months after they had to abandon their courses and return home when Russian forces attacked Ukraine, Indian students enrolled in the medical colleges there have a new challenge - resumption of offline classes and exams. Some universities in Kiev, capital of war-hit Ukraine, have informed students about resumption of offline classes from September and mandatory examination "Krok" to be conducted in October in offline mode.

According to norms in Ukraine, in third year of their studies, students from medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy have to appear for KROK-1. After completion if final year, the students have to sit for the state's licensing exam, KROK-2, for certification to be a doctor or pharmacist.

Staring at an uncertain future while attending classes online since six months, 20-year-old Ashna Pandit, a student of Taras Shevchenko National Medical University in Kyiv, was shocked to receive a message from her university. "We are ready to hold offline classes...starting from September 1. Your safety is guaranteed," the message read. Noida residents Ashna and her twin brother Ansh, who are fourth-year medical students, are now in panic about what to do next.

"The idea of returning to Ukraine when the war is still on is very scary. I spoke to the university authorities, they said that the situation is normal in Kieve but till when? The university still hasn't clarified that if they will be offering online classes for those who cannot make it to the campus.

"Even if they agree to online classes for some of us, the medical council in India does not recognise the online courses in medicine. It is a nightmare. Earlier, the university was telling us that they are arranging some mobility programme for us in Poland or in Georgia but that hasn't materialised," she told PTI.

Ashna said even if students do not return to Ukraine for classes they will have to go anyway for Krok as its a qualifying exam to be promoted to fourth year. A student of Bogomolets National Medical University in Kiev has similar concerns.

"The university is asking us to return to campus. I am not sure what to do. I am in my final year and have just few months remaining for completion of my course. Part of me wants to take the risk and just be done with it while part of me isn't sure if it will be safe to be there in coming time," said the Gurgaon resident, refusing to be identified.

According to sources, around 20,000 medical students from India were evacuated in March after the war escalated. The students have been staging protests demanding admission in Indian medical colleges as a one-time measure. The Centre had told Lok Sabha last month that there are no such provisions in the Indian Medical Council Act 1956 and the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 as well as the regulations to accommodate or transfer medical students from any foreign medical institutes to medical colleges in India.

Gavesh Sharma, a 23-year-old who hails from Churu in Rajasthan, said his family is not willing to let him take the risk. "The university is calling us. Some students are already planning their trip too and finding alternate routes to go but my family is not willing to let me take the risk. So I will wait to see how situation unfolds. I have to write Krok exam too but I will take it next year if I cannot appear this year. A year will be lost but at least life will be safe," he said. Sharma also studies at Taras Shevchenko National University. He said the university has already sent an intimation for fee payment for next semester.

The Supreme Court had on April 29 directed the regulatory body to frame a scheme in two months to enable MBBS students affected by the war and the pandemic to complete their clinical training in medical colleges India. Through a circular issued in March, the NMC had allowed returning foreign medical to complete their remaining part of internship in India subject to the condition that they must have cleared FMGE (Screening Test), which is mandatory for Indian students with foreign medical qualification to practice medicine in India.

This relief was for students who could not complete their internship due to situations beyond their control such as war, Covid etc. In March, a public interest litigation was filed in the Supreme Court seeking directions on the issue of admission and continuation of their studies in India. The plea also sought directions from the Centre to provide a medical subject equivalency orientation programme for such students.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) had also recommended to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that such students be accommodated in Indian medical colleges as a one-time measure. In a letter to Modi on March 4, the IMA had said such students should be permitted to go to Indian medical colleges for the remainder of their MBBS courses through an "appropriate disbursed distribution", but it should not be seen as an increase in the annual intake capacity.

28/03/2022

2021 Provisional WASSCE Results Vindicate Bright SHS

Bright Senior High School in Akyem Kukurantumi in the Eastern Region has been vindicated following another exceptional performance in the 2021 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE)despite change in examination centre.

The West African Examination Council, WAEC, on August 8,2020 relocated the examination center from the campus of Bright Senior High School to Ofori Panin Senior High School over an alleged misconduct of a handful of candidates.

However, a year after the relocation, candidates of the school continue to excel in the WASSCE.

Analysis of the provisional results for 2021 WASSCE indicate that 80% of the about 800 candidates presented garnered ”8As " to ”5As” in various subjects while those whoHad 4As to 2As represent 15%.

Candidates who had only one grade "A” are 5%.

According to management of the School, in terms of percentage passes the school had 100% overall pass.

In English Language subject specific, 42% of the candidates had A1 while 37% secured B2.

Candidates who had B3, and C4-C6 were 16% and 5% respectively.

98% of the candidates had A1 in core mathematics whilst 1.2% had B2. 0.5% had grade B3 while 0.3% grade C4- C6.

With regards to Integrated Science ,99% of the candidates secured grade A1, while 0.4 % had B2.

A proportion of 0.1% had grade B3 whilst the rest had C4 to C6.

Social studies were also a subject almost all the candidates presented performed incredibly well with 99% securing grade A1 according to the provisional results released by WAEC.

Candidates who had B3% in the subject were 0.6%.

Additionally ,0.1% of the candidates had B3 while 0.3% secured grade C4 to C6.

The performance of Sterling performance of the students manifested in their elective subjects as well will many of the students securing grade A1 to B3.

Management of the school told the media that, the provisional results data as analyzed vindicates the school about its unparalleled academic performance over the years.

Administrator of the School Jones Yeboah said, " following the unfortunate incident which happened in 2020.

We lost our Examination center status hence WAEC relocated our center to OPASS.

We believe it was a challenge for us to prove to the world that indeed our excellent performance in WASSCE over the years have been purely on merit of investment into quality tuition ,ICT and Science laboratory and human resources i.e. qualified teachers who are committed to go the extra mile to meet the needs and understanding of our students "" In Bright Senior High School, we believe quality education is multifaceted therefore we approach education with all these in mind to ensure that academic excellent is achieved.

This feat manifest at the tertiary level where our students are admitted "Management of the school believe their exclusive inclusion in the National Science and Maths Quiz (NMSQ) Competition in 2022 is yet another opportunity for the school to prove its academic might.

Bright SHS is a private Secondary school in Akyem Kukurantumi in the Abuakwa North Municipality in Eastern Region.

The school continue to receive many students due to its consistently excellent academic performance and conducive education environment.

The vision of the school is to become a center of academic excellent and talent development.

Owing to this, the school is exploring opportunities for strategic partnerships abroad to secure scholarships for its best students.

The school is also in engagement with partners to develop talents of students in various disciplines and professions including acting, singing, sports, arts, IT programming among others as part of extra curriculum activity to increase students entrepreneurial and employability opportunities.

21/03/2022

About 40% Of Richest People in Ghana Are Ashantis-Hon. Kennedy Agyapong Discloses

During an interview with his own TV Station Net2 TV’s program, the Member of Parliament for Assin Central Constituency and Business tycoon Kennedy Agyapong disclosed that; “the Ashanti’s dominates the richest region in this country estimating 40% of the wealthiest people in this country to be Ashanti’s, and the other 60% to be among other 15 regions left.”

Kennedy Agyapong stated; “The Ashanti’s are the people who like going to their home, and 40% of rich people in Ghana are Ashanti’s. So they should all help and contribute to national development.”

The question is, can Kennedy Agyapong’s statement be supported?

Why Are the Ashanti’s The Richest People in Ghana?

‘’Sika’’ or ‘’Dw3t33’’ are very popular terms used to describe money or riches in many Ashanti or Akan. A rich person in the Akan community is known as ‘’Osikani’’ in Twi which denotes someone who has amassed so much wealth.

Their expensive “Kente” with gold ornaments clearly shows how rich these group of people are. It has been observed that top richest people in Ghana are most Ashantis.

Below are the four solid points to support his argument.

1. Land of Gold

Another name for the Ashanti Kingdom is known as ‘’the land of gold’’ because it houses the biggest mines in the country.

For instance, The Obuasi Gold Mine for its gold mining activities has elevated Ghana for several years to a very good standing as one of Africa’s leading gold producing countries.

2. Hard Work

Another reason that may be attributed to Ashanti’s being the richest men in Ghana is hard work. Incontestably, the Ashanti’s who are spread all over the country are much more involved in businesses and work extremely hard for their money.

They are naturally born traders and are very good at what they do. They work very hard and hence it comes as no surprise that most of them are successful and rich.

3. Risk Takers

However, the remarkable thing to know about them is that they are risk takers. For that matter, they’re fearless, aggressive, and smart when it comes to business. They are always ready to dive in when they see a business opportunity around.

4. Support for Each Other

When Kwame Osei gets the opportunity to travel abroad to work, after 5 years he makes it and settles down. Then he comes down to take his niece Ama Serwaa with him. She too starts hustling hard and years later, she comes back home for her nephew Kwadwo Amoako.

The cycle continues this way till every member of the family gets there. This trait is very common with the Ashanti’s who are always there to support and enrich each other.

The points we raised in this article are not to say that other tribes in Ghana are lazy, bad or they’re not rich. But, based on the above-mentioned points, we can support Honorable Kennedy Agyapong by saying that the richest people in Ghana are Ashanti.

04/02/2022

UTAG, govt to restart negotiations
Date: Feb - 04 - 2022

President of UTAG, Professor Solomon Nunoo Follow
The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) and the government are expected to report to the National Labour Commission (NLC) on Monday, February 7, 2022, to find solutions to the UTAG strike that has crippled public universities.
This follows a letter from the NLC, dated Thursday, February 3, 2022, inviting all parties in the dispute for negotiations, in compliance with a directive by the Labour Division of the Accra High Court.

On Thursday, February 3, the court, presided over by Justice Frank Aboadwe Rockson, directed the parties to return to the negotiation table and engage in more dialogue as a way of resolving the impasse which had led to the strike.
NLC legal action
The NLC, the statutory body mandated to mediate and resolve labour disputes, had filed an application urging the court to order UTAG to call off the strike while negotiations continued
On January 13, this year, the NLC directed UTAG to resume work, on the basis that its strike was in violation of the law and procedures for embarking on strikes.

It further directed UTAG to formally submit issues it said were in dispute with the government for redress and report back to the commission on February 6, 2022.
However, UTAG disregarded the NLC directive and sustained the strike it started on January 10.
Negotiations

Lawyers for the NLC and UTAG were in the courtroom to battle out the case, but Justice Rockson directed the disputing parties to give negotiations another chance.
The presiding judge gave the parties one week to engage in the negotiations and report back to the court on February 10.
What this means is that if by February 10 the parties have successfully resolved the impasse, the NLC will likely withdraw the suit for the court to strike it out as withdrawn.
This was the tactic the same court adopted in dispensing justice in a similar legal action filed by the NLC against UTAG in August last year.

Strike
UTAG embarked on the strike on January 10, this year, calling on the employer (government) to restore its members to the 2013 Interim Market Premium (IMP) of 114 per cent of basic salary.
The labour union also wants the government to go ahead to formulate guidelines to implement the appropriate recommendations to address the general conditions of service of the university teacher.

It is the case of UTAG that the IMP, which was instituted after the implementation of the Single Spine Pay Policy, is frozen, per a government White Paper in 2013, for the purpose of the conduct of a labour market survey (LMS) to determine the MP payable to workers deserving of it.
UTAG contends that till date, the determination has not been made, which has resulted in the erosion of the university teacher’s salary.
In its release declaring the strike on January 7, this year, the UTAG Council said there was the hope that by completing and implementing the LMS Report of 2019, a review of the IMP would put the university teacher on a relatively good salary stead.
“Regrettably, the recommendations of the 2019 LMS Report, without any accompanying technical report on the implementable MP, is meaningless to UTAG, as it does not address the pertinent issues of improved CoS,” it said.
Impact
The strike has crippled activities in all public universities and threatened to disrupt the academic calendar which had been tweaked and adjusted to meet the contingencies brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are fears that public universities face imminent closure if the UTAG strike is not called off.
This is because, by convention, three weeks (21 days) into a strike that grounds academic work, the schools are expected to close down.

31/01/2022

Akro Senior High School lynching incident: President commiserates with Konor of Manya Krobo

The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has expressed his condolences to the Konor of Manya Krobo, Nene Sakite II, for the death of his nephew who was lynched at the Akro Senior High School last weekend.

The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Seth Kwame Acheampong, led the delegation to deliver the President’s message to the Konor, who is also the President of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs, at his palace at Odumase-Krobo.

The delegation included the Regional Director of Education, Mrs Margaret Nsiah-Asamoah; the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Simon Kwaku Tetteh, and the Odumase-Krobo Police Commander, Superintendent Doris Grant.

The President said he deeply regretted the incident, but quickly lauded the Konor for his intervention, which calmed the situation.

The President also commended the police and other security agencies for helping to calm the situation from getting chaotic between the school and the Odumase-Krobo community.

The President assures that the security apparatus will do the needful to ensure that full-scale investigations are done to bring the truth of the incident that led to the death of your family member out for justice to prevail. I assure you that the law will deal with the perpetrators when found out,” the Regional Minister said.

The Head of the bereaved family, Mr Eliezer Bah Sackitey, explained that the circumstances surrounding the death of Emmanuel Kpabitey Sackitey, 42, was worrying, adding that the 42-year-old was a victim of circumstance.

He said Kpabitey Sackitey, who shared a wall with the school, was going to help out when an alleged thief attacked the girls only to suffer the ultimate prize.

The Konor, for his part, said he and the people of the Manya Krobo traditional area cherished the senior high schools in the area, and would do everything possible to protect them.

He said anybody could have been the victim of the situation, and stressed that it should be the last ever under his watch.

29/01/2022

Free SHS significant — Ofori-Atta

The Minister of Finance, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, has described the free Senior High School (SHS) programme being implemented as one of the top investments by the government to develop the country’s human resources.He said the initiative was a significant intervention to ensure that Ghanaian children, no matter where they came from, had access to education.

Mr Ofori-Atta said this at the closing session of the 73rd New Year’s School and Conference last Wednesday.
He was speaking on the three top investments he thought the government had made in response to a question posed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), Mrs Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, who facilitated the event at the Cedi Conference Centre at the University of Ghana.
New Year School
The New Year School and Conference was organised by the School of Continuing and Distance Education of the College of Education of the University of Ghana.

The two-day event was on the theme: “COVID-19 and socioeconomic dynamics in Ghana”.
Among the participants were representatives from the trade unions, metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives, media practitioners, youth leaders, civil and public servants, traditional leaders, civil society organisations and faith-based organisations.
Independence

Mr Ofori-Atta said at the beginning of the independence of the country, Ghana’s First President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah was very clear about the issue of education, which put the country in a very good stead by producing personalities such as the late United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan among other personalities.
According to him, the free SHS allowed for “social mobility -therefore, it does not matter where you come from, what your name is.... and that you can go through without need to have financial burden, then the nation should do that.”
“We have seen some 400,000 more students go through the free SHS programme and I think that’s just infinitely important to change the sense of belonging as a citizen on your rights to do that to also improve yourself,” he said, adding, “so that for me, has been key”.
Mr Ofori-Atta said the issue of building an educated, confident and literate society enhanced productivity.

Agriculture
Another issue Mr Ofori-Atta said was the decentralisation of agriculture where about 1.5 million farmers had been brought into the mainstream, as well as the exportation of some products.
The minister also spoke about other issues including industrialisation and cited the commencement of operations of VW, support for Kantanka and other firms.

“So that is what we see and all of this also now anchored by the GHc100 billion ‘Obaatan pa’ Ghana Cares Programme which would ensure sustainability,” he said.
Again, he mentioned the country’s production of half of the about 1.4 million tonnes of rice it consumed through the Ghana Cares programme to reduce the import of the product.
Those initiatives, among others, he said showed a country building its human capacity and its industry.

BMGEducationNews

29/11/2022

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