GES sometimes gives unanalyzed directives that doesn’t urger well for administration – Retired Educationist.
A retired educationist Robert Ajene has observed with worry the lack of consultation between the Ghana Education Service and Heads of Schools before issuing directives. He observed these directives impede smooth administration of schools and call on the Conference of Head of Assisted Secondary Schools CHASS to unite forces to resist these unanalyzed and unilateral decisions that seek to indoctrinate the educational system. Mr. Ajene’s comment follows the confusion where the GES issued directives to the Achimota School and the Wesley Girls High school but both schools rejected the directives. Achimota College refused admission for two Rastafarian students while the Wesley Girls High Schools prevent Muslim students from observing Ramadan. The former headmaster of Bawku Secondary School called for a revision of some of the policies relating to religions to reflect modern times adding that culture is dynamic and what worked in time past cannot be applicable today. Speaking on the Big Issues Morning Show on GBC URA Radio monitored by Apexnewsgh.com, the founding Principal for Bolgatanga Polytechnic now Bolgatanga Technical University expressed concern over the pool of frustrated unemployed youth in the society that pose a national security threat to the country. He said he is not surprised some youth have started a campaign to protest the unfulfilled promises and economic challenges in the country. He noted that the situation can be attributed to the failure of the educational curriculum to train the hands more than the brain. Mr. Ajene called on the government to equip technical Vocational training institutes and Technical Universities to provide practical hands-on training to create self-employed graduates as a way to solve the unemployment situation. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
WATCH: I would never have thought at any moment that there was a need to have any licensure examination for teachers– Retired educationist
A retired educationist Robert Ajane has said, ‘he would never have thought at any moment that there was a need to have any licensure examination for teachers’. The first-ever teacher licensure examination in Ghana was held from September 10 to 12, 2018 in colleges of education throughout the country. Even though since its introduction in 2018, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has a different view on the said license examination. In 2020, former President John Mahama in one of his platforms made a pronouncement that his government will abolish the licensure examination for teachers if he is elected as President in the 2020 polls. “I will cancel licensure exams for teachers,” he said, explaining that what was needed was an improvement in the quality of teaching and examinations at the Colleges of Education. Former President Mahama stressed. Meanwhile, Mr. Ajane who spoke One-on-One with Apexnewsgh-Tv, said he would never have thought at any moment that there was a need to have any licensure examination for teachers in the country. “If it was at the critical time when I was actively teaching, I would never have thought at any moment that there was a need to have any licensure examination and my reasons are as follows; at that time, we have two types of teachers, the professional and non-professional and even if you had to add the third one the ‘pupil teacher’ who even just walked in and because there was no room. Some years back, there was a pupil-teacher training center where they will teach them and then asked them to go and teach. “Now the professional teacher is the teacher who after the middle school or the SS went into a teacher training college and at the teacher training college, he or she was taught the academic and the methodology. How to teach and teaching practice and I think, that was the licensures for him or her. “If you still have the degrees, you will still be called an unprofessional teacher” “You haven’t trained the people and you are saying come and sit for a licensing exam for what syllabus? I found that rather unfortunate. But if this is the progression, I said let’s caution it. However, Mr. Ajane blamed teachers for some of the predicaments they are going through. They will say pupil-teacher and I said, do we have pupil police, pupil army men, pupil nurse, pupil what? We have helped to water down our teaching and even as we talk, there still pupil teachers there. What are those people recommending licensure examination saying about these people? Meanwhile, he was worried with the number of qualify teachers currently sitting at home after completion without jobs. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Fasting poses no health risks – Islamic doctors challenge Wesley Girls’ school, PTA, Methodist Church
The Islamic medical association of Ghana (IMAGH) has challenged assertions by the management of Wesley Girls’ High School, its PTA and the Methodist Church Ghana that they implement a no-fasting policy in the school to safeguard the health of students. Justifying their reason for not allowing a Muslim student to undertake the month-long Ramadan fast, the school’s management, as well as the PTA and the Methodist Church Ghana, argued that allowing the fast could pose health risks to the student. However, the group of Islamic health professionals say the claims by the school, PTA and the church are not grounded in science. The Islamic health professionals rather adduced evidence to the contrary. “At no point within the 12 – 16-hour period of fasting is the person deprived of any essential nutrient”, IMAGH said in a statement issued on Wednesday, 5 May 2021 and co-signed by its President and General Secretary, respectively, Dr Abdul-Samed Tanko (Consultant cardiologist) and Dr Hadi Mohammed Abdullah (Neurosurgeon), arguing: “This is the reason why Islam highly encourages the intake of Suhoor (dawn meal)”. The group said “contrary to the opinion expressed by the school, its PTA, and the Methodist Church, several medical research conducted and published on reputable medical journals such as the New Journal of England medicine, John Hopkins Journal of medicine, have affirmed that intermittent fasting promotes blood sugar control via the reduction of insulin resistance and impacts positively on type 2 diabetes mellitus, and minimises the risk of coronary heart disease and hyperlipidaemia”. In addition, IMAGH asserted that “it has also been shown to reduce markers of systemic inflammation and oxidative stress that are associated with atherosclerosis”. Read the groups full statement below: ECHO OF ISLAMIC MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF GHANA (IMAGH) ———————————————————————————– RE: WESLEY GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL PREVENTS A STUDENT FROM FASTING The Islamic medical association of Ghana (IMAGH), which represents all Muslim health professionals in the country, has noted with utter disdain the distorted assertions made by the Wesley Girls’ High school, the Methodist Church of Ghana and the PTA of the school in their communiqué to the effect that fasting is deleterious to the health of students. This inaccurate assertion was made by these bodies in an attempt to justify the clear violations of the religious rights of Muslim students in Wesley Girls’ High school. As far as IMAGH is concerned, those claims are unfounded and lack any firm bases in science and medicine. These claims by the 3 bodies were made without any scientific proof. IMAGH acknowledges the fact that there are various religious groups who fast. However, the mode of fasting differs from one religion to the other. Whilst fasting is optional in most religions, it is compulsory for all healthy Muslims to fast in the month of Ramadan: “O ye who believe, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous” (Quran 2:186). Despite the fact that the instruction to fast is obligatory, the Quran in chapter 2:184 exempts Muslims with underlying health and some physiological conditions from fasting. These include those who are ill or on a journey. Muslims with active peptic ulcer, pregnant and lactating women, renal disease, liver disease are encouraged by Islamic scholars and health professionals to avoid fasting. This is because fasting is not intended to cause hardship. It must also be emphasised that peptic ulcer disease is not caused by hunger or fasting. This misinformation of the general public needs to stop. The causes of peptic ulcer disease are well known. Science and medicine has an envious place in Islam. In spite of these exemptions, one is not allowed to skip fasting based on any other reasons. It is even worse when such instructions are not based on sound scientific knowledge. It is important to state that Islamic fasting is comparatively moderate and cannot be considered as starvation. There is a clear scientific distinction between fasting and starvation. Their physiological and biochemical effects on the human body are also different. At no point within the 12 – 16-hour period of fasting is the person deprived of any essential nutrient. This is the reason why Islam highly encourages the intake of Suhoor (dawn meal). Contrary to the opinion expressed by the school, its PTA, and the Methodist church, several medical research conducted and published on reputable medical journals such as the New Journal of England medicine, John Hopkins Journal of medicine, have affirmed that intermittent fasting promotes blood sugar control via the reduction of insulin resistance and impacts positively on type 2 diabetes mellitus, and minimises the risk of coronary heart disease and hyperlipidaemia. In addition, it has also been shown to reduce markers of systemic inflammation and oxidative stress that are associated with atherosclerosis. In conclusion, IMAGH wishes to state that Ghana is a secular state which must promote inclusiveness. Public- or government-assisted schools, which seek to promote one religion over the other, poses a risk to all of us and our future. We need to be careful in taunting Muslims to build their own schools. If this is done, this has the potential of deepening religious segregation and divisiveness. We, therefore, call for a broader stakeholder consultation to find an amicable solution to this issue. PRESIDENT DR ABDUL-SAMED TANKO CONSULTANT CARDIOLOGIST GENERAL SECRETARY DR HADI MOHAMMED ABDULLAH NEUROSURGEON Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Must Read: Robert Ajane gives history about the genesis of northern education, says the north owes a lot to the catholic mission (VIDEO)
A retired educationist Mr. Robert Ajane has said, people of the north owe a lot to the catholic mission because, if not for the sake of the catholic mission people of the north wouldn’t have been educated to express themselves or even share their views on any national issues. “I don’t normally like to start blaming people, but I think it is the colonel government that created that problem. History tells us, that they came through the coast, settled in the south, set up schools and brought a lot of educational development in the south, and the northern territories were left untouched. After some time, the white man discovered that those they trained in the south some went abroad to obtain PhDs and came back and did not strictly obey the colonel masters. So, when they stepped up to the north, today I think it wasn’t a mistake they did that says, we have trained these people in the south and they are doing exactly what we are telling them. In any case, we have found cocoa, found gold and so for the north, we should have a different thing. Train them, they will provide the labour force for the south. Even then, they will not open schools all the north. The missionaries came and drove them away and I think the north owes a lot to the catholic mission, but for the catholic mission, I would have been so illiterate that I would not even be talking to you now. The catholic came forced, try to open the schools against the colonel government’s wish and succeeded in opening the schools. He narrated However, Mr. Ajane refuted the claim he benefited from Ghana’s free education in the past. According to the retired educationist who spoke to Apexnewsgh-tv during a One-on-One engagement at his residence, he said the free education he benefited from wasn’t a Ghana government money nor Gold coast government money because as of then, Ghana as a country wasn’t independent yet. However, he pointed that, it was his birthright to benefit from the 10 million pounds brought by the colonel government to accelerate development which will enable the north to bridge up the gap with the south in terms of development. “That free education was not Ghana government money or Gold coast government money yet, because we were not independent but, Colonel government money which was brought to accelerate development so that the north will bridge up”. He stressed “So, it was the birthright of any northerner including me. If you tell me Ajane, you enjoyed that free education, I would argue with you to the end, I would never agree with you, I would say that was my birthright. What the colonel government didn’t give me and gave to the south, that is what they gave to us. All we now want is, don’t let us quarrel over issues and somebody take a forensic audit to add to the supposed 10 million pounds that were left and see whether that money was exhausted and whether the money was used for which it was given”. “Fortunately, the government of Ghana sensitive and the welfare expert as they have been said, the budget is not finished. If this was the case, what can we do now? Even you insist it was free if is free for me, why don’t we legislate that all of us will have free? Fortunately, the government of the NPP came into power and brought about this free SHS. Some of us who were doubting Thomases said, it can’t happen and they looked at one area in which I don’t agree, that there is no infrastructure to take up more people who will be entering school. The English man said you can’t eat your cake and have it. Where in this country, and what was the period, that when they wanted to build a secondary, they finish building the secondary and opened it? Even our Universities, Legon started from Achimota college, if they wanted to have a university, he didn’t put up a university there. So, people saying Infrastructure I don’t agree with them. We have to start somewhere. As it is, haven’t we succeeded? Mr. Ajane asked Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Ghana’s 2020 WASSCE performance proves Free SHS has not compromised quality – Bawumia
Ghana’s Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has said contrary to pessimistic views that the introduction of the Free Senior High School would compromise quality education, the most recent WASSCE results released by the West African Examinations Council proves otherwise. Speaking at the closing session of the National Chief Imam’s annual Ramadan lectures (Tafsir) in Accra, Dr. Bawumia spoke about the government’s commitment to promote quality education, indicating that the remarkable record of the first batch of beneficiaries of Free SHS among four West African countries, proved that the government has not compromised quality education. “When the Akufo-Addo government introduced the Free SHS policy, some people opposed it and said quality education would be compromised”, he re-echoed. “But the 2020 West Africa Senior High School Examination shows that if anything, the free senior high school has improved the quality of education in Ghana.” “The WAEC with countries like Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Nigeria, Ghana; the results show that of the total number of students who took the exam, there was a total number of 465 who got A in all their 8 subjects”. “Of the 465 in all these countries, 411 came from Ghana”, he said. Dr Bawumia noted that “the other 54 came from Nigeria but Nigerian students were 70% of all the students who took the exams but Ghana got 411 8As and they [Nigeria] got 54 8As.” “That tells you the quality that we have produced. We should not underestimate what we are capable of and we should not underestimate what we are capable of.” “Free SHS is helping our students and of course helping our parents as well because they don’t have to pay.” Dr Bawumia urged all, particularly members of the zongo community and other deprived communities to seize the equal opportunity and access to education that the Akufo-Addo government has provided. Classfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Dr. Bawumia show off with Ghanaian students following their WASSCE performance ahead of Nigerian students
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the Ghana’s Vice-President, has said even though 70 per cent of the students that sat the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) were Nigerians, Ghanaians students got more 8As than their Nigerian counterparts. In his view, contrary to pessimistic views that the introduction of the Free Senior High School in Ghana would compromise quality education, the most recent WASSCE results released by the West African Examinations Council proves otherwise. Speaking at the closing session of the National Chief Imam’s annual Ramadan lectures (Tafsir) in Accra, Dr. Bawumia spoke about the government’s commitment to promote quality education, indicating that the remarkable record of the first batch of beneficiaries of Free SHS among four West African countries, proved that the government has not compromised quality education. “When the Akufo-Addo government introduced the Free SHS policy, some people opposed it and said quality education would be compromised”, he re-echoed. “But the 2020 West Africa Senior High School Examination shows that if anything, the free senior high school has improved the quality of education in Ghana.” “The WAEC with countries like Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Nigeria, Ghana; the results show that of the total number of students who took the exam, there was a total number of 465 who got A in all their 8 subjects”. “Of the 465 in all these countries, 411 came from Ghana”, he said. Dr Bawumia noted that “the other 54 came from Nigeria but Nigerian students were 70% of all the students who took the exams but Ghana got 411 8As and they [Nigeria] got 54 8As.” “That tells you the quality that we have produced. We should not underestimate what we are capable of and we should not underestimate what we are capable of.” “Free SHS is helping our students and of course helping our parents as well, because they don’t have to pay.” Dr Bawumia urged all, particularly members of the zongo community and other deprived communities to seize the equal opportunity and access to education that the Akufo-Addo government has provided. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
411 of 465 ‘8As’ WASSCE students from Ghana – Akufo-Addo
On Friday, 30th April 2021, eight out of the 411 “Akufo-Addo Graduates”, i.e. the first beneficiaries of the Free SHS policy, who obtained 8As in the 2020 WASSCE were at Jubilee House at the invitation of President Nana Akufo-Addo. “Indeed, 411 out of the 465 candidates who scored 8As in the 2020 WASSCE were students from Ghana, and beneficiaries of the Free SHS policy”, the president said on his Facebook page. Again, 2020 was the only year that 50% of Ghanaian students scored A1 to C6 in all core subjects, he added. Classfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Don’t take feminism to your marital homes – Ursula urges women
Gender activist and Minister for Communications and Digitalization Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has appealed to feminists not to extend their hardline activism on feminism to their marital homes. “You need to compartmentalize your life. You can’t be driving in 5th gear all the time and trying to change the world. You need to step back and think that there are different roles you play in life and you should play all of them equally well so you need to have balance in your life, You can’t take you women’s right and activism into your home when you need to be a woman, your man’s woman,” she told Nana Aba Anamoah on Starr Chat Wednesday. She stressed: “He didn’t marry a profession, he married a woman he wants to hang out with so you need to balance that and meet those needs as well. It also helps you in your own life because without that you tip unto the being the unnatural person”. On LGBT, the lawmaker has advised the LGBT Community in Ghana to keep their sexuality private as Ghanaians cannot be compelled to accept the practice. “Adults can do whatever they like in the privacy of their homes but should not force their sexual preferences down anyone’s throat. Just keep your sexuality private. The lawmaker said young people especially in secondary schools explore many things in trying to explore their sexuality. “You’re exploring your sexuality, so you do all kinds of silly things growing up. Thank God there were no social media when we were growing up to leave a permanent record of some of the crazy things we did”. She however noted she will continue to advocate for the rights of the LGBT Community. “I will continue to fight for their rights to education, job, healthcare, and others”. starrfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Ex-Gen Sec of GNAT denied blowing teachers’ GHS400,000 provident cash
The immediate past General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Mr David Ofori Acheampong, has denied embezzling some GHS400,000 of teachers’ tier-3 (provident fund) contribution. His denial follows a petition by the National Council of GNAT for accountability with regard to the tier-3 fund of the teachers started by Mr Acheampong in 2019. The petition, dated 6 April 2021 and signed by the National President of GNAT, said, among other things, said: “Indeed, the attempt to change the GNAT Provident Fund Scheme to Teachers Provident Fund Scheme, to escape good corporate governance practices and accountability to the people, will be resisted with all our might available to us”. The petitioners said Mr Acheampong announced on Accra-based Peace FM “to the whole country that GNAT used a whopping amount of GHS400,000 to educate members across the country to join the fund”. It added: “Indeed, the meetings, membership education, GNAT facilities and all legal fees, were paid for with GNAT membership dues. In effect, over GHS400,000 of GNAT funds was used to establish the funds”. However, Mr Acheampong told Kwame Appiah Kubi on Accra100.5FM’s morning show Ghana Yensom on Wednesday, 28 April 2021 that the amount of money paid to start the fund was GHS45,000. He, thus, wondered where the GHS400,000 was coming from. According to him, all the money paid into the fund passed through the appropriate trustees, adding that he had absolute no control over it. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
3unit classroom of Atampuurum B Primary School in Sumburungu uncompleted after 13 years
368 Pupils of Atampuurum B primary school in Sumbrungu of Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly of the Upper East Region risk their lives day by day learning in an environment that could be described as a death trap. According to the information gathered by Apexnewsgh.com, the school has been operating without doors, windows, and even with an open roof since after the roof was ripped off by rainstorm years ago. These are the conditions innocent pupils of Atampuurum B primary are faced for the past years and Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly has had different faces as MCEs without giving any attention to the school to date. I was told, whenever is threatening to rain, teachers will have no other option than to pupils ask the children to go back home, which means the children are learning under the outrageous squelching sun each day. Community members have been doing their little best assisting the abandoned school in one way or the other but unfortunately, the municipal assembly isn’t bothered about the school. The Sumburungu electoral Area Assemblymember Azure Samuel who expressed dissatisfaction with the school’s current condition said, he contested the Assemblymember position because of the neglected Atampuurum B primary school but unfortunately if he raised the issue during the assembly meeting the MCE will not give him any concrete response. “The MP Isaac Adongo is aware of the school, I have forwarded messages to him, he didn’t reply, he didn’t say anything about it”. He revealed “They started building the school since 2007 thereabout, but up to now, the school has not been completed. The windows are not there, the doors are not there, and even the roofing, the wind came and destroy everything and that was the time my brother Robert Awure was there as the assembly member somewhere 2014-2015 he went and informed the MCE and that time, I was a teacher at the school. So, 2016- 2017, we were not hearing anything concerned about that school. So, it was 2018 when some people came and took pictures of the place that they are going to help and we didn’t hear anything from them. Even up to now, that am speaking to you, the school is like that. There is no furniture, the windows are not there, the classrooms are still like that, even there is no office for the teachers. Even common table the teachers didn’t have. It was just recently the community mobilized some monies and buy some plastic chairs. In 2019, I was able to raise some 5 bags of cement and we were able to floor some of the classrooms from Primary 1 to Primary 3”. “When I went to the Assembly, I was talking about the school and they will not even mind me. They read the action plan, the school wasn’t mentioned and I asked the MCE but he wasn’t even giving any concrete reason for not putting the school there. So, I don’t know the problem of that school as am standing”. He told Apexnewsgh.com I was there when my brother the former Assemblyman Robert Awuure wrote to the Municipal Assembly and the MCE Amiyuure with the Director came to the school. It was because of that school I decided to contest as Assemblyman and I have regretted because, they sent me there to see what is there as their assembly member and now, I went to assembly and I can’t even speak. Mr. Akolgo Mathew the headteacher at Atampuurum B Primary school told Apexnewsgh.com that he came and met the school without a window, without doors, without furniture, and even without roofing. “The situation is becoming so bad because the environmental condition is deeply affecting teaching and learning” He is appealing to authorities, NGOs and well-meaning Citizens to come to their aid. Meanwhile, the Caretaker MCE for Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly Joseph Amiyuure, admitted not knowing the funding source responsible for Atampuurum B Primary school. “If it was on Common Fund or once it has been initiated from one of the funding sources and if is on Common Fund, it means is only Common Fund that can rescue that school and one thing about Common Fund is that, before our regime came into office and i became a Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) there are numerous of such projects that was scattered in the Municipality under Common Fund uncompleted. So, we need to know the funding source and if it’s not from Common Fund, we can find a way of working on it because, most of these development partners when they are giving their money, they will want you to use it for a project which will show is their project. They don’t want you to use their money to complete an uncompleted project of Common Fund. And if you look at the Common Fund since we came to office, the quantum of resource that will come is almost clean up. We have never gotten up to 300,000”. He told Apexnewsgh.com However, the former Assembly member for Sumburungu electoral area Robert Awuure when giving his account about the school said, “When I took over as assemblyman, I called the contractor and he said unless we came down to Accra and arrange with the GETFund people to give him his money, he cannot come down to continue with the project. And you can imagine that small building, they give it to somebody in Accra to come down to Bolga to build. So, that was the main problem. So, I brought it down to the assembly level to see whether they can fix it in their project, and actually, they agreed and put it in their project but, they were also looking for funding and they were rolling it over and over and over until I myself left the assembly. According to Mr. Awuure, the school was captured in the 2014 to 2019 budget. However, teachers and community members of Sumburungu are calling for those who matters to give urgent attention to the abandoned school. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam