Day: June 28, 2024

The Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), Credit Union has presented 282 pieces of mathematical sets to candidates of Kokomlemle Circuit Schools writing the 2024 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

The donation formed part of the Union’s Social Corporate Responsibility to support students with their basic needs to enhance access to quality education in the Municipality.

The mathematical sets and pens would be distributed to students in the Ayawaso Central Municipal assembly.

Mrs Maureen Erekua Odoi, Board Member of GNCCI, said education was important to a country’s socio-economic and political development, which when well delivered, helped to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.

In that vein, she said she would be extremely excited to see students becoming lawyers, educationists, soldiers, commissioned police officers, business entrepreneurs and other professionals to help build the country.

She said the Union pledged its commitment to sponsor students to perform w
ell.

Mrs Victoria Enyonam Dotse, Manager, GNCCI, urged them to see themselves as future leaders and endeavour to succeed and give back to their communities.

She said empowering the students would be one of her policies since education was a bedrock of human and national development.

Mr Stephen Oteng, Treasurer, GNCCI told the candidates to reflect soberly on all that their teachers had taught them and what they had also learnt and write the examination in confidence.

Mrs Felicia Adu Mensah, Deputy Director, Supervision and Management of Teaching and Learning, Ayawaso Central Municipal Education Directorate, was grateful to the Union for their kind gesture.

Some of the candidates also expressed their appreciation towards the gesture and promised to excel in their exams.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Alhaji Fanday Turay, Chancellor and Board Chairman of Regional Maritime University (RMU), has called on governing Member States of the University to interact and cooperate with each other to develop the maritime industry.

He said the advancement in technology had called for significant investment and changes in the maritime industry, making it important for efforts to be made to meet international demands, saying ‘vessels are now being remotely manned goading.’

The Chancellor was speaking at the 31st Board of Governors Meeting of the RMU in Accra.

The primary focus of this year’s Meeting is to develop strategies for enhancing educational standards.

It is also to facilitate discussions on challenges, knowledge sharing, and the resolution of concerns that will ultimately impact the university’s progress.

He said RMU must rethink and realign some of its programmes to fit international standards, indicating it equally called for the acquisition of the needed equipment to replace the outdated ones in order
to match the current trends.

He pledged to enhance academic excellence by ensuring that all curriculums were both rigorous and relevant to changing maritime trends.

‘By fostering a culture of innovation and critical thinking, we will equip our students with the skills they need to succeed in a dynamic marine industry’, he said.

Speaking of partnerships, he said the University would deepen collaborations with maritime companies, government agencies, and international organisations to provide students with practical experience and to ensure that programs align with industry labour market.

He said his tenure would promote an inclusive environment where everyone would feel valued and supported, and diverse perspectives to enrich academic and social life on Campus.

He assured Member States of investing in learning equipment and infrastructure to improve education for students.

Mr Fredrick Obeng Adom, Deputy Minister of Transport, said Ghana remained committed and would continue to channel resources towards t
he positioning of RMU as a world-class maritime training institution.

He said the maritime industry contributed to more than 80 per cent of customs revenue in Ghana and the largest contributor to the revenue base through taxes and levies on imported and exported goods.

‘Therefore, our commitment to the training of the manpower for this very important industry has been unwavering,’ he said.

‘Efforts must be made to ensure the RMU maintained its international standards and reputation,’ he added.

Mr Adom urged member countries to lend support to the University to navigate through its challenges and achieve its strategic objective.

The meeting was climaxed with commissioning of a new administration block annex and seven vehicles procured by the Board of Governors to ensure smooth operations of the University.

Col. Turay (Rtd) is Sierra Leone’s Minister for Transport and Aviation and succeeded Mr. Ebrima Sillah from The Gambia as Chancellor during the Board of Governors meeting.

The chairmanship of the Boar
d is rotated among the five Member States every two years.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A professor of civil engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has stressed the need for the government to design and implement a national programme on universal toilet coverage in the country.

Prof. Kwabena Biritwum Nyarko said it was required of the government to commit and invest in creating the needed enabling environment for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to enforce laws on household toilets.

In his inaugural professorial lecture at the KNUST in Kumasi, Prof. Nyarko explained that a clear enabling environment would engender compliance and quality standards through robust monitoring and supervision mechanisms.

‘The construction, operation and maintenance of household toilets for the nearly six million inhabitants without them, could be a game changer by creating sustainable jobs along the sanitation value chain – it will create job for artisans, suppliers of construction materials, financial institutions and other service providers.’

His top
ic was ‘Universal Access to Water and Sanitation Services: A Myth or Reality.’

Prof. Nyarko, who is also the Provost of the College of Engineering at KNUST further tasked the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources to integrate greywater management in water and sanitation programming.

According to him, greywater management was virtually non-existent in Ghana adding that, over 90 percent of greywater generated in Ghana was untreated before disposal.

He again suggested a comprehensive assessment of the overall water supply landscape for urban areas, small towns, and rural communities.

This was necessary to determine the best management arrangement based on economies of scale, efficiency improvement and regulatory enhancement.

We should also explore the creation of two or three utilities that serve a combination of urban, small towns and rural areas across the country.

Prof. Nyarko indicated that, to provide sustainable water and sanitation services, it was imperative to address the high rate of non-fun
ctional water and sanitation infrastructure.

All existing water and sanitation infrastructure must have a functional management access plan, with budget for recurring expenditure such as repairs, rehabilitation and access renewal linked to the conditions and useful life assets, recommended.

This approach would ensure the sustainability of investment and lead to more effective and impactful service outcomes.

The government, he said must invest in research, development, and innovation to generate solutions to address the water and sanitation challenges and this should be in areas such as financing, technology options, institutional designs, marketing to ensure effective implementation and sustainability.

He believed when these were taken into practice, Ghana could achieve universal access to basic water services and make significant progress in sanitation.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A model children summit on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been held as a platform to discuss critical issues, share best practices, and make inputs to strategize and to take actions towards improvement of their lives.

It was organised by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MGCSP) in partnership with UNICEF, World Vision Ghana, Plan International, Child Rights International, and the SDG Advisory office.

Other partners include Compassion International, International Needs, Rains Ghana and Children’s Believe.

Key issues identified by the children at the summit included high rate of youth unemployment, limited access to internet services, low digital literacy levels among the population, unpredictable rainfall pattern and extreme weather conditions negatively affecting crop yield, among others.

Osama Makawi, a representative of UNICEF in a statement advised the children to use the summit as a platform to become champions for the SDGs in their communities, saying, ‘Be the generati
on that fulfils the promise of the African Charter.’

He said though there were hurdles such as child poverty, limited healthcare, and the ever-present threat of climate change, however, with education and the roadmap of SDGs, we could navigate these challenges with all stakeholders working together in an unstoppable force for good.

‘Let’s use science, technology and the unstoppable human spirit to create a future where every child can thrive,’ he said.

Madam Laura Del Valle, the National Director, World Vision Ghana said; ‘As an organization whose vision for every child is life in all its fullness.

‘We believe that addressing poverty and inequality, ensuring quality education, health and wellbeing of our children, including access to safe water, improved sanitation and hygiene are crucial for the wellbeing of our children.’

According to her, this was why World Vision has launched a new global campaign dubbed ‘Enough’ which emphasizes the commitment to ensuring enough nutritious food for every child, obta
ined ethically and sustainably and to eradicating child malnutrition.

Dr. Afisah Zakariah, the Chief Director of MGCSP said true leadership was not about hierarchical status, but about the passion to initiate, the ability to unite, and the commitment to innovate.

‘The bold proposals you put forward, innovative solutions, you design, the visionary and forward-looking resolutions you adopt and pass and the courageous actions you take will electrify us all to aim higher and become the change makers our world needs’, he said.

Madam Darkoa Newman, the Minister of MGCSP in a closing remark said SDGs goal ‘5’ and ’16’ where child protection and gender equality come to play, protecting children from violence, exploitation and harmful practices was key priority.

She said government, together with partners have strengthened legal frameworks and enforcement mechanisms to safeguard children’s rights.

The summit, she said, has demonstrated the incredible potential of our children to contribute meaningfully to the dev
elopment agenda.

According to her, Ghana has made significant strides towards achieving the SDGs including the implementation of various social protection programmes aimed at reducing poverty among orphaned and vulnerable children and their families.

She indicated that initiatives such as the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme has provided financial assistance to the most vulnerable households, ensuring that basic needs such as nutrition, healthcare and school enrollment are met.

Awards were presented to the child delegates for their outstanding contributions and performances

Source: Ghana News Agency

AngloGold Ashanti, Obuasi Mine has inaugurated and handed over an examination printing centre for basic schools in the Obuasi East District at Wawase.

The centre, constructed at the cost of Ghc 2,249,281, will help in the printing of examination papers, especially BECE mock examination papers, for final year junior high school pupils in the area.

It is part of AngloGold’s efforts towards contributing to the improvement of Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) pass rates in the host communities, which is part of the company’s 10-year Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDP).

The aim is to enhance quality education, promote sustainability, and foster socio-economic development, while easing the pressure on the surrounding schools during printing of examination papers.

The facility is made up of a Printing and Production Room, Printing machinery, offices, storage rooms and others.

The project became a reality after series of engagements with stakeholders on how to sustain the periodic mock examinatio
ns geared towards preparing BECE candidates for their main examination.

Mr Edmond Oduro Adjei, Senior Manager, Sustainability and Community Relations at AngloGold, speaking at the ceremony, stressed that the company would continuously strive to uphold the purpose of mining to empower people and advance various societies at Obuasi.

According to him, the commissioning of the Exam Printing Center was just one of the several initiatives aimed at ensuring improvement in quality education delivery in the area.

He explained that, in anticipation of seeking a permanent solution to aid pupils prepare, AGA believed that the printing center would be the most practical solution to support pupils, especially the final year one.

Mr Adjei noted that the printers installed could sort, arrange, print, and staple up to 100 pages per minute.

He was of the firm conviction that the printing center would ensure that examination papers were produced accurately and efficiently, thereby reducing the chances of errors or discrepa
ncies in the papers.

It will again help maintain the integrity of the examination process and ensure a fair assessment for all pupils, adding that, the examination printing center would contribute to well organized and reliable examination system, which could benefit both the school examiners and pupils.

He noted that, since the launch of the SEDP, AngloGold Ashanti has trained and equipped over 500 teachers with leadership skills and innovative ways to effectively deliver lessons in classrooms.

In addition, he said, AngloGold distributed over 100,000 copies of learning materials to basic schools to support teaching and learning.

Mr Kwabena Owusu Nketia, Obuasi East District Director of Education, urged all stakeholders to continue to rally behind AngloGold Ashanti to enable it to continue to support educational development in Obuasi.

Mrs Faustian Ammisah, District Chief Executive for Obuasi East, commended AngloGold Ashanti, Obuasi Mine, for the continued commitment to improving quality education in the
area.

She called on the people to continue to support the government, initiating policies and programmes that would help improve the living standards of the people.

Source: Ghana News Agency