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Northern schools closed
As mentioned a couple weeks ago, some schools in the Northern Region were caught in the middle of a spat between the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the school food suppliers. The GES has neglected to pay food suppliers in the region, and after three semesters without pay, the food suppliers drew a line in the sand, saying they would stop providing food on credit. The schools in the region then came out saying that without the necessary food, the schools would not be able to reopen for second term. Well, the GES continued to not provide the feeding grants, and, as expected, the food suppliers stopped delivering food. The GES has come out saying that it has partially settled its debt and attributes the delay in full payment to difficulties presented by the change in government.
Akufo-Addo picks MoE leader
President-elect Akufo-Addo revealed his pick for the Minister of the Ministry of Education (MoE). Current Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has been given the nod. In his announcement, Akufo-Addo had ambitious words: “It is the responsibility of the state to make sure that every young person in this country has access to quality secondary education, and so we want to make it free… It is important that we develop the human capital of our country. The policies that we have will make it possible.” Time will tell how successful Akufo-Addo and the NPP will be. In the meantime, a little background on Opoku Prempeh: he is a medical doctor by trade and has been an MP since 2008.
Unfortunate situation at St. Vincent College of Education
Folks are unhappy at the St. Vincent College of Education, where a dispute over religion has caused a stir. Several Muslim students, feeling that Christianity was being imposed on them, chose to not attend the school’s morning assembly. In response, school authorities prevented the students from taking their examinations later in the day. Furious, the Muslim students forced their way into the examination hall and scattered the exam papers. The principal, Dr. Norviewu-Mortty, has since gone on record saying that he was quite clear in explaining to the students that they may not be excused from morning assemblies. The situation remains unresolved, but hopefully next week will bring with it an amicable solution.
Upper West in need of a logistics upgrade
According to Sustainable Aid through Voluntary Establishment (SAVE), an NGO, inadequate logistics were hamstringing the quality of education in the Upper West Region. In particular, SAVE highlighted outdated computers and teaching and learning materials. SAVE encouraged the GES to provide schools in the region with access to basic logistics. Additionally, SAVE suggested that more needs to be done in the way of fighting teacher absenteeism and increasing the effectiveness of instructional hours.
Keep the three-year
The Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC) has reached out to the incoming government to lobby for the three-year Senior High School (SHS) system. While the three-year system is the status quo, there has been chatter about a reversion to the four-year system instituted briefly under the Kufuor administration in 2007.
Also…
GES grateful for Vodafone’s annual mentorship camp program, which seeks to encourage young women throughout Ghana to pursue more ambitious career goals.
James Camp Prisons grateful for inauguration of Millennium City School on compound.
Displeased citizens are asking the government to complete sidelined GETfund projects.
Another article calling for more emphasis on technical education.
Article notices reasons for optimism among African universities; Ghana mentioned.