Category: Literacy

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia Wednesday cut the sod for the construction of a 200-bed capacity hostel for the Trinity Theological Seminary in Accra. The four-storey multi-purpose hostel would be completed within 14 months, with funding from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund). The project is being implemented in partnership with the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) and the Office of the Vice President. The sod-cutting ceremony was in fulfillment of a promise the Vice President Bawumia made to the school two years ago during its 76th congregation. Dr Bawumia said the hostel facility would provide a conducive accommodation for pastor trainees to study and impart moral values to society. 'As an institution that trains and instills Godly values, the construction of this hostel will not only provide the much-needed accommodation for students, it will also serve as a hub for more learning and growth,' he said. Dr Bawumia said he wanted to see a Ghana where emphasis was placed on values and doing the right things, with the human factor playing its appropriate role in curbing, among other vices, corruption, bribery, crime, dishonesty and indiscipline. With that in mind, he would usher in a golden age of collaboration and partnership between government, faith-based organisations, and the church and 'incentivise our faith-based organisations'. 'And I believe that if we give them incentives, just as we give our external development partners, we will see a lot more coming from them and we will legislate those incentives in the context of the proposed charities bill.' The Vice-President said: 'When I look at the role of the Church and faith-based organisations you will see that in various areas, especially education and health, the Church has been very remarkable.' He urged the stakeholders to look forward with optimism to the day when the hostel would stand tall as a testament to their collective vision and determination, which would address the accommodation deficit and serve as a hub for more l earning and growth. Dr Richard Ampofo Boadu, the Administrator, GETFund, said financing of education within Ghana's tertiary sub sector was a complex and multi-faceted challenge that required collective action and commitment. He, thus, encouraged tertiary institutions both public and private to explore innovative financing mechanisms to mobilise additional resources for tertiary education. The Director- General of GTEC, Professor Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, in a speech read on his behalf, said expanding access to tertiary education had been a critical component of the Commission's plan. 'We have prioritised these endeavours with the aim of achieving a gross tertiary enrollment ratio of 40 per cent by the year 2030.' That ambitious goal, he explained, aligned not only with the national aspirations of GTEC but also the continental and international benchmark set forth in agenda 2063 of the African Union and the Sustainable Development Goals. The Very Rev. Prof J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, the President of the Tri nity Theological Seminary, in his welcome remarks, commended the Vice President, GTEC and the GETFund for the initiative. He said it would help to minimise the housing deficit of the Seminary and inspire it to improve its services. The facility would cement the relationship between the Seminary and the Government, he said. Source: Ghana News Agency

Design and Technology Institute (DTI) says it is committed to preparing young people for entrepreneurship, design innovation, and precision welding and fabrication careers.  Miss Constance Swaniker, the Founder and President of DTI, said the institute would be expanding the training offers to include Agriculture and Agri-business and would scale up its unique Precision Quality training to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), artisans, and master crafts persons. Madam Swaniker was speaking at the DTI Stakeholder Meeting on the theme: 'Redefining Academia and Industry Collaboration as a Driver in Building Robust TVET System.' She said DTI was relocating from its current one-acre campus to Berekuso opposite Ashesi University. The Founder said the expansion had been made possible by a 3 million euro funding from the African Union Development Agency, Skills Initiative for Africa, and the German Bank KfW. She said the DTI model required consideration as Ghana and Africa grapple with strategies to ensure full a nd sustainable employment for the teeming youth. 'The DTI since its inception conceived and implemented the Community Liaison Officers initiative which allows the Institute to partner with one or more members of the community to enable them to reach marginalized youth with the DTI opportunities,' she added.  She said in less than five years of full operation, DTI had demonstrated the powerful impact of focused holistic training towards skilling young people and making them ready for the world of work. Miss Swaniker said already, all learners in the first two years of operation of DTI were already in full-time employment or were continuing their studies and assessments from multiple agencies. She said in 2020, DTI, in collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation, embarked on a 3-year project to create 40,000 job opportunities for young people with a focus on females and the vulnerable, a target which had been achieved according to assessments by an independent Labour Economist at the University of Ghana. These job opportunities were created by giving formal training to young people in the dual TVET-cum-production school at DTI, training SMEs and master-craftspersons. It also trained academic and business scale advisors and effected systems change through collaboration with state actors to shape national policy in precision quality and standardisation. 'DTI believes that the traditional TVET approaches to training are overly theoretical and do not equip young people for workplace realities,' she said. She said their unique 'production school' programmes provide learners with regular and adequate hands-on, on-the-job training as part of the curriculum. Miss Swaniker said students, regardless of their field of study, learn by doing and could engage in real-world projects. She said DTI was founded in 2016 on the Accents and Arts (A and A) factory floor to provide the youth with work-readiness skills and to bridge the gap between industry and academia. This occurred because of the huge and unsustainable de mand on A and A to provide internship opportunities for young people, most of whom went on to get well-paid jobs after the training. Dr Christopher Mensah, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Ho Technical University, said with close collaboration with the University and industry the graduates would be trained and ready for the world of work. He said Industries were not seriously committed to investing in the training of students to feed their establishments. He said as a University, they include Precision Quality into their curriculum to equip all students and prepare them for the future. Source: Ghana News Agency

A Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (FAusIMM), Mr Henry Antwi, said to be able to unlock the full potential of Ghana's resources, policies should focus more on human capital development. He, thus, called on the Government and the mining industry to boost the infrastructure and resource capacity of universities for effective human resource capacity building. That would also ensure the building of capacity of graduates to innovate and use the right tools and technology to unlock the full potential of the mining industry in Ghana, he said. Mr Antwi said this at the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) in Tarkwa, when the AusIMM Tarkwa Student Forum, held the Seventh Annual conference, on the theme: 'Industry Training and Job Opportunities; Pathway for Empowering Young Professionals in Mining.' It brought together mining companies, academia, media and other mining stakeholders, offering the students the opportunity to interact with industry executives and gain a good understan ding of the theory. On skills development, he mentioned competition and technology, which were driving change for relentless restructuring, and encouraged mining professionals to adapt and skill up to drive innovations to improve productivity and reduce operation costs. Mr Antwi, also the Founder of the AusIMM, Tarkwa Student Chapter, spoke about revolutionary knowledge applications in artificial intelligence and technology, the increased penetration of robotics in process-controlled operations, and autonomous mining, emphasizing that global efforts to decarbonize economies called for the urgency for alternative energy sources such as renewable energy. He challenged academia to develop technologies to increase the discovery of new mineral deposits, especially critical minerals including lithium, copper and cobalt. Mr Antwi updated the participants on the current state of the local and global mining industry, saying mining played a crucial role in Ghana's economic development contributing to GDP, export ea rnings and government revenue. Mr Samuel Boakye Pobee, the Managing Director of AngloGold Ashanti Iduapriem Mine, said: 'In this era our softwares are becoming more collaborative.' 'We need to develop that collaborative attitude in school… l think we need to build that in our students by giving group assignments, let's stop giving individual assignments.' Mr Stephen Yamoah Asante, the General Manager of Chirano Mine, explained that: 'As students you have enormous opportunities to equip yourselves to be successful, so instead of bordering yourselves with questions on what is out there, let's take advantage now.' 'Although there are thousands of graduates out there, and vacancies are limited, we still advertise as employers with three years' experience but end up employing people who have just completed university. The reason is that we identify people who can add value to the work we are doing.' Miss Ekuba Bezeba Yalley, a lecturer at the Mining Engineering Department, UMaT, stressed that although the min ing industry was a male dominated area, women studying science and engineering should be encouraged as the country was growing. 'At UMaT we are looking at bringing more ladies into the mining industry, so we have instituted this gender mainstreaming policy that is fighting to get as many as 40 per cent of our student population to be women.' The President of the AusIMM Tarkwa Chapter, Mr Daniel Obeng Boadi, noted that the chapter had provided opportunities for professional development for the students through monthly webinars, mine visits, networking with industry professionals and AusIMM Scholarships. He expressed appreciation to the founder and other stakeholders who had supported them in diverse ways. Dr Kofi Peter Amponsah-Mensah, the Director of Pamicor Limited, Mine Manager at Golden Star Resources, Wassa Mine, Mr George Asongo and Miss Josephine Wesoama Valejega of the Minerals Commission were present at the conference. Source: Ghana News Agency

The All Nations University (ANU) in Koforidua has held a ground-breaking ceremony to commence the construction of a one-storey health science block scheduled to be completed by September this year. The groundbreaking ceremony marks the beginning of an important chapter in the university's growth and commitment to providing cutting-edge facilities for quality education in the health sciences. The block would be named after Dr James Orleans-Lindsay, the Chairman of the Emergency Medicine Technology (EMT) programme of the institution. The building will contain 10 lecture halls, two skills laboratories for EMT practice, four heads of department offices, 10 faculty offices, washrooms, and other facilities. Dr Orleans-Lindsay said science was the bedrock of all developments and that the building, when completed, would improve the learning experience of students aspiring to become doctors and promote further education. Professor Samuel Donkor, the President of the University, said Ghana required well-trained pa ramedics and emergency medical service providers who could promptly attend to medical emergencies at the scenes of disasters. That would ensure victims got immediate care before being transported to the hospital for further treatment. The All Nations University had a Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences faculty that provided programmes such as the Bachelor of Science (BSc) in General Nursing and the BSc in Emergency Medicine Technology. Professor Albert Gyimah, the Chancellor, ANU, expressed his commitment to supporting the University in its efforts to promote the school. The University also provided a broad spectrum of undergraduate and graduate programmes in areas like oil and gas engineering, electronic and communications engineering, business administration, and biblical studies, he said. He said the graduate programmes offered an array of options, including MBA Accounting, Human Resources Management, Finance, Hospital Management, Information Technology, MPhil Business Administration, MPhil Theology and MSc Cyber Security. Source: Ghana News Agency

The All Nations University (ANU) in Koforidua has held a ground-breaking ceremony to commence the construction of a one-storey health science block scheduled to be completed by September this year. The groundbreaking ceremony marks the beginning of an important chapter in the university's growth and commitment to providing cutting-edge facilities for quality education in the health sciences. The block would be named after Dr James Orleans-Lindsay, the Chairman of the Emergency Medicine Technology (EMT) programme of the institution. The building will contain 10 lecture halls, two skills laboratories for EMT practice, four heads of department offices, 10 faculty offices, washrooms, and other facilities. Dr Orleans-Lindsay said science was the bedrock of all developments and that the building, when completed, would improve the learning experience of students aspiring to become doctors and promote further education. Professor Samuel Donkor, the President of the University, said Ghana required well-trained pa ramedics and emergency medical service providers who could promptly attend to medical emergencies at the scenes of disasters. That would ensure victims got immediate care before being transported to the hospital for further treatment. The All Nations University had a Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences faculty that provided programmes such as the Bachelor of Science (BSc) in General Nursing and the BSc in Emergency Medicine Technology. Professor Albert Gyimah, the Chancellor, ANU, expressed his commitment to supporting the University in its efforts to promote the school. The University also provided a broad spectrum of undergraduate and graduate programmes in areas like oil and gas engineering, electronic and communications engineering, business administration, and biblical studies, he said. He said the graduate programmes offered an array of options, including MBA Accounting, Human Resources Management, Finance, Hospital Management, Information Technology, MPhil Business Administration, MPhil Theology and MSc Cyber Security. Source: Ghana News Agency