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Free Quality Secondary Education Is Non-Negotiable – BAWUMIA
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13 October 2012
Free Quality Secondary Education Is Non-Negotiable – BAWUMIA
{sidebar id=11 align=right}Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, 2012 Vice Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party, says the party’s free secondary education policy is non-negotiable as Ghana cannot develop and become a modern society without a largely educated workforce.
Dr. Bawumia made this statement at Chuchuliga in the Builsa North constituency on Friday on his 5th day of his seven day Upper East tour.
Addressing the Chiefs and elders of Chuchuliga at the Chuchuliga palace, Dr. Bawumia said “we want to build a resilient, modern and industrialized economy and this dream cannot be achieved with a largely uneducated workforce and this why education is key. Today money has become a barrier to secondary education. Today parents have to pay GH¢500, GH¢600 and GH¢700 and in the event that one has two or three children at the secondary school level then this can really be a nightmare.
This is why under a Nana Akufo-Addo administration, we would make secondary education free and that is not a negotiable issue, for us it is non-negotiable. We can no longer tolerate the sight of thousands of our children being denied secondary education because of money.”
Dr. Bawumia indicated that that the NPP was committed to prioritizing education and devoting all the necessary resources into building the necessary skilled and educated populace in furtherance of the pursuit of building a modern society. He noted that among the plans of the NPP was to increase the number of secondary schools to support the free SHS programme.
“We are not only going to make SHS free but we are also going to increase the number of secondary schools, 350 new secondary schools in total, and quite a number of these new schools would be in the three northern regions which lack some of these facilities already. We also are placing emphasis on the quality of education and that is why we are hinging our educational programme on the ‘Teacher first’ policy, motivating the teachers to ensure that they can deliver the right quality education to our children,” he said.
Dr. Bawumia said that the NPP had credible policies and programmes which would lead to an improvement in the lives of the people and urged the chiefs and people of Chuchuliga and Builsa North to elect the NPP Parliamentary candidate for the area, Agnes Chigabathia to support Nana Akufo-Addo in government.
Source: Communications Directorate, NPP/ Ghana
No comments171 Methodist University students given green light to go back to school
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171 Methodist University students given green light to go back to school
One hundred and seventy-one additional students who were withdrawn from the Methodist University College (MUC) heaved a sigh of relief Thursday when the National Accreditation Board (NAB) was ordered by the Human Rights Division of the Accra High Court to put a stop to its decision to withdraw them from the university.
{sidebar id=11 align=right}That followed the granting of an application by the students to join them to a suit pending in the court between 98 students of the university and the NAB.
Already, the 98 students are reported to have gone back to school following the court's restraining order on the NAB from going ahead with its directive to withdraw them from the MUC until further notice.
According to the court, withdrawing the students from the university would cause undue hardship to them and said until the determination of the suit brought against the NAB and the university, the students must return to school.
The court's ruling followed a motion for the enforcement of the fundamental human rights of the students filed by their lawyer, Mr Gary Nimako Marfo of Puozuing & Associates, an Accra-based legal firm.
The students are seeking a declaration that their withdrawal from the MUC is unconstitutional and unlawful.
They are further seeking an order of perpetual injunction directed at the NAB, the Ministry of Education and the Attorney-General to forever restrain the three from interfering with their right to equal educational opportunities and facilities, as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.
The court ruled that exhibits tendered by the students indicated that when they were admitted, the university had been granted accreditation by the NAB to offer the various programmes to which the students were admitted.
It said the documents submitted to the NAB for accreditation contained the entry requirements to the various programmes and that, at all material times, the NAB knew about the entry requirements of the various programmes offered the students.
The substantive matter was adjourned to November 29,2012.
In a supplementary affidavit deposed to by Jesse Caleb Brown of Augtory Hostel Limited, Dansoman, on behalf of the students, the students said the university caused a publication to be made in the Daily Graphic of Friday, January 7, 2011 advertising for qualified candidates to enrol for admission in the 201112012 academic year.
They said among the requisite qualifications advertised as entry requirements were HND, DBS or diploma from any recognised institution, RSA stages II & III, post-secondary teacher training certificate from a recognised institution, diplomas from recognised universities and professional certificates from recognised professional bodies and the Association of Business Executives (ABE).
They said they paid tuition fees ranging from GH¢1,400 to GH¢2,686 or more, depending on the various courses offered by the MUC for the 2011/2012 academic year.
The NAB, through its Executive Secretary, Mr Kwame Dattey, had written to the first respondent that it had granted accreditation for the programmes the applicants were offered.
The students said the MUC was required to send information on its programmes for accreditation and re-accreditation by the NAB, which the university complied with.
The NAB, they said, had, at all material times, been aware of the entry requirements for admission to the MUC for its programmes and had approved same prior to publication.
They said the university ran several public advertisements in respect of its admission requirements and admitted students but the NAB had never objected to the said publications by the university.
They said the NAB had, in a letter signed by Mr Dattey and dated May 28, 2012, indicated to the university to withdraw all of them from the institution because there were deficiencies in their entry requirements to the university.
Based on those directives, they claimed, the university complied and withdrew all of them from the institution.
The students said the NAB did not give any notice or invite any of them to hear their side of the story before issuing the directive to have all of them withdrawn from the MUC.
From: Daily Graphic/Ghana
Two NUGS executives removed from office
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Two NUGS executives removed from office
The National Union of Ghana Students has announced the dismissal - with immediate effect - of two of its executive for making publications in the name of the Union without recourse to its internal structures.
General Secretary Ali Gbonta Tafhim and Press and Information Secretary Austin Brako Powers have therefore been directed to hand over all NUGS assets in their custody, including their identification cards and official files with immediate effect.
According to a release jointly signed Friday by the two out-going NUGS presidents; Peter Kwasi Kodjie and Osman Ayariga Abdulai said, the Union “has suffered an irreparable loss as a result of these publications that sought to cast a slight on the image of the two presidents and the image of the Union in the public eye”.
The release accused the two executives of being behind several publications including “Creation of 45 constituencies are inappropriate – NUGS” (ghanaweb), Fireworks @ NUGS: Peter Kodjie Steals GHC20,000 from NUGS Fidelity Account” (ghanaweb), Give us quality, not free education - NUGS tells political parties” (myjoyonline) and Students need quality education, not "junk" freebies – NUGS” (ghanaweb).
“Particularly disturbing is the fact that NUGS has just come out of a dark era of division and apathy. If things continue like this, unity within the Union could suffer another blow; and should that happen we are not sure NUGS will pull through this time around”.
NUGS said based on the actions of the two executives, NUGS’ core values have been compromised and extremely violated.
“By their actions, they have demonstrated an unwillingness to work cooperatively and collaboratively within the confines of the Union, and a failure to recognize and respect leadership’s authority,” the statement noted.
From:Jerry Tsatro Mordy/Myjoyonline.com
Nana Akufo Addo's Free Education Policy....Prez Mahama's Picture Going Round...
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04 October 2012
Nana Akufo Addo's Free Education Policy....Prez Mahama's Picture Going Round...
WHILE SOME kingpins of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have been openly criticizing Nana Akufo-Addo’s free education policy, the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Western Regional First Vice Chairman, Kwesi Biney has told Daily Guide some NDC activists are going round with President John Mahama’s picture telling people that the NDC flag bearer is the one promising Ghanaians free education.
“Having realized that Nana Akufo-Addo’s free education policy is being accepted by rural dwellers, some NDC activists are moving from house-to-house in some rural communities in the Western region with the photograph of President Mahama, telling the electorate the president is the one promising the people free education,” Mr. Biney said.
He made the revelation to the paper in an interview, cautioning Ghanaians particularly those in the remote areas to be wary of the deceit of NDC activists who were claiming the education policy was theirs. “The irony of it is that while some activists of the ruling party are secretly moving from house-to-house with Mahama’s picture claiming the NDC will implement free education, the party’s bigwigs are sitting in their big cities openly criticizing the policy saying it can only be implemented after 20 years,” Mr. Biney noted.
He entreated the electorate to reject the NDC outright in the December 7 general elections so that the ruling party could not even think about rigging.
He noted that for close to four years, the NDC government had not been able to find solutions to the constant shortage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in the country.
Mr. Biney said it was pathetic that because of the gas shortage, mothers carrying their babies on their backs had to carry gas cylinders on their heads in the scorching sun in search of the product which was not available at gas filling stations.
“This gas shortage problem has deepened in that not only has it adversely affected domestic use, it has contributed to the current national power crisis which has resulted in the ongoing load shedding exercise nationwide.”
Kwesi Biney explained that the power crisis experienced under the previous NPP regime was due to a long period of drought which affected the level of water in the Volta River. “During that time members of the NDC spoke as if they were the alpha and omega of energy. Now where are the Ato Ahwois, because we can’t get simple energy in our homes?”
The former Ahanta West DCE opined that the NDC was only interested in making propaganda about projects that could only be identified by people in a particular area such as their so-called removal of schools under trees project.
“The NDC continues to give conflicting figures on the number of schools under trees they have removed. Some activists of the party say 1,000; the late President Mills said 1,200. On his recent visit to the region, Vice President Amissah-Arthur said about 4,000 schools under trees have been removed,” Biney noted.
He therefore challenged the NDC to publish the actual number of schools under trees they had removed, where they were situated and the cost involved.
Source: Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi
Teachers demand better conditions of service on world Teachers Day
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Teachers demand better conditions of service on world Teachers Day
{sidebar id=10 align=right} Teachers across the world are being celebrated Friday for the crucial role they play in national development.
This year’s teachers’ day is under the theme: Take a stand for the teacher.
The National Association of Teachers (GNAT) is hoping the day will provide an opportunity to remind stakeholders about the need to pay special attention to the profession.
Deputy Secretary in charge of Education and Professional Development at GNAT, Thomas Baafi, told Joy News teachers want government to commit to improving their conditions of services and infrastructural development for the sector.
According to him, teachers “need the government to come and finalise the allowances that we term category two and three allowances. For sometime now that has been on the drawing board, in fact it is long overdue that we are invited to the negotiations table to finalise this thing but it is not happening and that is not making us happy.”
Thomas Baafi observed that, “One of the good things that can be done to the teacher is to take a very serious view of the allowances and then we see the way forward.”
Some teachers would be awarded special prizes for their dedication and hard work at the 18th Best Teacher Awards ceremony in Kumasi Friday.
From: Myjoyonline.com