EDUWATCH takes on NUGS President over comments on Free SHS

Exec. Dir EDUWATCH, Kofi Asare

Executive Director of the Education Think Tank, Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, has debunked the assertion by the President of the National Union of Ghana Students, NUGS that giving parents the option to pay school fees for their wards under the Free Senior High School Programme will create classism in schools. 

The NUGS President, Dennis Appiah Larbi-Ampofo, has said that treatment of students will vary should government explore such an option. 

But in an interview with GBC's Isaac Asare, Executive Director of Eduwatch, Kofi Asare argued that allowing parents who are high income earners to contribute part of the cost of the flagship programme is the best way to support government meet 100 percent cost of the intervention. 

He said the outcome of free SHS is laudable, but management of the policy needs to be enhanced to achieve efficiency by allowing beneficiaries to part in the funding regime to sustain it. 

He hinted that for the past five years, government through the finance ministry has been able to provide a maximum of 60 percent of the funding required for the policy at the end of the year. 

The renowned educationist further revealed the average disbursement of funds for the free SHS including cost of feeding is between 60-65 percent, an indication that if government is able to get funding support of about 35-40 percent from other sources, challenges with the implementation of the flagship program will be resolved especially with food supply which covers over 70 percent the overall cost of the policy.

GBC

UNDP Supports Akwaduro Community

 

Residents of Akwaduro, a predominantly farming community in the Asunafo North Municipal Assembly of the Ahafo Region have been supported with a Junior High school, JHS through a climate impact agroforestry initiative championed by the UNDP.  

Students in the community used to travel three kilometers to attend JHS in neighboring towns. The situation residents bemoaned has impacted negatively on the academic performance of students in the locality. 

The construction of the school they indicated will provoke effective teaching and learning as students will no longer face the dangers of walking long distances to access education. 

Chairman of the Parent Teacher Association PTA at Akwaduro, Osei Poku said the provision of the school through a self-help initiative by community members has come as a big relief considering the inconveniences students have to endure in their quest to access quality education.

 According to him, the income levels of community members through the agroforestry project, has improved over time. This, he added, made it possible for beneficiaries to invest in putting up the school through a Village Saving & Loans Scheme. 

Mr. Poku said aside education, the community has benefitted from climate mitigation actions where degraded forest zones are been restored as part of efforts to avert the looming climate crisis. There is therefore the need to engage communities as key agents in addressing climate change to leverage indigenous knowledge for climate solutions.

This is because implementing climate actions with equity does not only increase community resilience but also enables communities to derive extra social benefits.

 The Akwaduro is one of the communities involved in a local climate initiative being implemented by the UNDP, in partnership with the Ghana Cocoa Board and Mondelez International. The project supports the communities to intercrop economic trees with food and cash crops on and off forest reserves. 

GBCs Isaac Asare

 

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Demand for Base Pay Adjustment is suicidal_ Austin Gamey

 

 

Labour Expert, Austin Gamey

Labour expert, Austin Gamey says considering the prevailing economic circumstance, it will be suicidal for government to adjust the base pay even by 5 percent. 
However, government can decide to put in measures that could help alleviate the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian.

Mr Gamey said demand for salary increase is legitimate but pleaded with workers to support government in these trying times and not aggravate the situation any further. 

Backing his submission in an interview with GBCs Isaac Asare,  Mr Gamey stressed that government has gone completely bankrupt so demands for salary increment aside the minimum wage concluded by the National Tripartite Committee NTC, could further create problems for the country’s coffers. 

He further observed that a lot of factors, including projected inflation come into play before consideration is given for base pay adjustment.

 

GBC

GACC warns MOFA

 

 The President of the Ghana Agricultural Chamber of Commerce, Philip Abayore says the decision by the Ministry of Agriculture to sell food stuffs at designated Ministry of Food and Agriculture Offices for consumers at cheaper prices, is not sustainable. 

Mr Abayore maintained that the sector ministry should have worked on what he termed agricultural fuel subsidy to help reduce the high prices of food and other retail products on the market. 

He further challenged government to help market women and queens gain access to credit facilities.

 Mr Abayore also warned that if care is not taken, the decision by the sector ministry might result in post-harvest loses.

GBC/IA                                       END                                     ENT

 

 

26th GJA Media Awards Slated for Tomorrow

All is set for the 26th Ghana Journalists Association, GJA Awards scheduled for tomorrow, November 12, 2022, at the Kempinski Hotel

Gold Coast City in Accra. The theme for this year’s Awards is: “Walking the Path Towards Ghana’s Economic Recovery: The Role of The Media”. According to the President of the GJA, Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, this year’s event which will be held under the distinguished patronage of President Akufo Addo, will go down in history as one of the best. 

At a news conference ahead of the Awards, Mr. Dwumfour said he had confidence in the awards Committee over their work done in selecting the awardees. 

The Awards Review Committee was chaired by Dr. Sarah Akrofi Quarcoo andtogether with her team, reviewed the nature of the Awards, slashing the Awards categories from over 50 to 37. 

 This, according to the Review Committee was to reduce the long hours spent during the Awards Night which sometimes creates boredom on the night. He was hopeful that with the reduction of the categories, the event will be smooth and orderly. 

Mr. Dwumfour commended the Awards Committee, headed by Mrs. Yaa Oforiwaa Asare-Peasah . Mrs. Asare-Peasah last Tuesday released names of individuals and media houses that have been nominated to win awards at the event.

 She revealed that the total number of entries this year was 137 due to the reduction in the number of categories. She said some of the entries had issues such as incorrect categorization, poor content organization, and poor presentation quality such as scanning of photocopied materials, making reading impossible, and were thus not considered at all.

 Other challenges, she mentioned were running videos without audio, disjointed sentences, and incoherent flow of ideas among other application lapses.

Despite the hiccups, Mrs. Asare-Peasah said the Committee Members were equal to the task and delivered on schedule. GBCs Beatrice Senadju, Peggy Ama Donkor and Mavis Offei are among the nominees for the awards.

GBC/IA                                           END                   ENT

 

 

 

 

President Akufo Addo Instils Hope in GBC

Executives of the GJA led by Albert Kwabena Dwumfour (White)

President Akufo-Addo has revived debate over the constitutional status of the state broadcaster, GBC. He said he prefers GBC not to be a State-Owned Media, but a Public Service Broadcaster like the BBC of England. 
The President made this known when Executives of the GJA paid a courtesy call on him at the Jubilee House. His comments follow a request by the GJA for the government to intervene in the indebtedness of the state broadcaster. Albert Kwabena Dwumfour is the GJA President.
 President Akufo-Addo said government will make sure GBC is maintained as a viable and important part of the Media landscape. 

GBCs Isaac Asare

Chief Justice Swears-In Representatives of GJA on NMC

 

     Executives of GJA in a pose with Chief Justice, His Lordship Justice Anin-Yeboah

Two representatives of the GJA designated to serve on the National Media Commission, namely Gabriel Asante Bosompem and Kobby Asmah of Graphic Communications Group Limited were yesterday sworn into office by the Chief Justice.  

   Newly sworn GJA Representatives on the NMC. Kobby Asmah (left) and Gabriel Bosompem

Administering the oath of office and oath of allegiance to the two, the Chief Justice, His Lordship, Justice Anin-Yeboah called on the Representatives to help the NMC to carry out its mandate effectively.

GBCs Isaac Asare