Category: Literacy

Renovation works have commenced at the Gundork primary school in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region, following a Ghana News Agency (GNA) report on the deplorable state of the school's structure. Earlier this month, GNA reported about the poor state of the school's structure, which had its front pillars, particularly from classes one to three, destroyed, exposing iron rods and endangering the lives of students and teachers. This caught the attention of Mr Jacob Soung Zurobire, Deputy Director, Judicial Training Institute of the Judiciary Service of Ghana, in charge of the training needs of judges and the Judicial Service's staff, who contributed GH?3,200 for the fixing of the pillars. 'You (GNA) broke out a story about the Gundork primary school, and considering the fact that the children's lives are endangered, and as someone who also came from those schools to become a lawyer, I asked the Assemblyman of the area to get the estimates of materials needed for my consideration to save the lives of t he children. 'He got back with the estimate consisting of bags of cement and wood, costing about GH?3,100 and so I made a donation of GH?3,200 to fix the problem,' the Legal Practitioner told the GNA in an interview. The renovation work, when completed, would make the school again a safe environment for academic activities and possibly prevent any possible collapse of the school.? He called on other residents of the community to offer support to others in need even before they were satisfied. 'I advise all of you to support others in need before you get satisfied. Do not get satisfied before you help another person, and by doing so, we can live together and grow together as a community,' he added. Mr Isaac Wulug, the Assemblyman of the Zanlerigu Dagliga Electoral Area, who is spearheading the renovation, received the money and thanked the lawyer for his kind gesture in saving the lives of the children. He explained that the amount would cover the renovation of the pillars; however, the windows and doors of the school also needed to be fixed, and therefore called on the government and other residents of the community to come to the aid of the school. Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr. Godwin Kofi Ahlijah, President, High Skies College in Tema, has attributed the high rate of unemployment in Ghana to the country's non-skill-based educational system. Dr. Ahlijah said because students were often trained in how to take exams and pass rather than the practical aspect of work when they graduate, it was difficult for them to get employment and fit into industries. He said: 'Graduates from our universities either are not relevant in the industry where they are needed, or they can't do anything for themselves. This graduate unemployment thing shouldn't have been an issue if we were training them to know how to begin their businesses.'? He said this during the maiden congregation of the college, which is an affiliate of the University of Cape Coast. Six graduated with Masters' degrees, and 10 with diplomas. Dr Ahlijah described the system of education in Ghana as 'the awkward style of education' and said it was the bane of the country's development, as students are trained to be good exam t akers who have a lot of knowledge and brilliant when taking exams but found wanting when it comes to implementing the same knowledge in the industry. He explained that there were three levels of education, with the first being the knowledge base, where the learner is asked to memorise and define things, and the second being application, and then synthesis, where the learner can transport knowledge from one field to another. He said for a change to occur, it must start with the schools, where they needed to reorient the learners on companies and opportunities instead of asking them to produce verbatim things in their books. He indicated that such teaching practices and curriculum had led to a disconnect between academia and businesses, making graduates unfit for work. According to him, there are a lot of business opportunities that are yet to be tapped in Ghana that people must be encouraged to go into instead of waiting for non-existing jobs. The High Skies College President bemoaned the high-interest ra te banks charge on loans, which he said also served as a hindrance on the path of graduates from becoming entrepreneurs. 'If you look around, the interest rate today is almost 30 percent. Who can take money at that rate and do anything meaningful with it? That is where the government is expected to give some tax breaks to push people to create jobs,'he said. ? Dr. Philip Ankamafio Mensah, the Council Chairman of High Skies, urged students to make good use of artificial intelligence tools to enhance their knowledge and skill acquisition. He said students, in doing so, must also have the necessary knowledge in whatever field they want to apply it to instead of being lazy and just downloading things without even acknowledging the source. He encouraged graduates to always gain experience with the things they had learned, noting that learning is continuous not only in the classroom but also on the field.? Source: Ghana News Agency

Chief of Azulenloanu, Nana Addo-Nreda VI, has appealed to the Ghana National Gas Company to refurbish the dilapidated classroom block in the Azulenloanu community to allow children of school going age to be enrolled in the school. He expressed wary that the current situation of the classroom block had forced many parents of the community to withdraw their children to other schools in neighbouring communities. Nana Addo-Nreda VI made the appeal when he paid a visit to the Ghana Gas Office Complex at A.B. Bokazo in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region. The visit afforded him the opportunity to discuss developmental problems worrying the Azulenloanu community within the oil and gas enclave and solicit the Company's assistance for redress. The Traditional Ruler expressed deep concern about the near collapse of the Pre-School building which had forced Nursery school children to stop going to school. Nana Addo-Nreda VI said the rooftop of the building leaked during the rainy seasons thereby disrupting teaching and learning activities. The situation has compelled school children to sit down in the dust and learn as the floor as well as the entire block had not been plastered. The Chief said lack of teachers' bungalow forced newly posted teachers to the town to run away. Nana Addo-Nreda VI implored Ghana Gas Company to factor the school into their corporate strategic plan and come to the aid of the school. He said education was the future of the current generation and the community could not afford to sit down aloof for the total collapse of the school. For his part, Senior Manager in charge of Community Relations at the Ghana National Gas Company, Mr Stephen Donkor expressed concern about the plight of the school and the community. He said Ghana Gas Company had made significant investments in education as the bedrock of national development. Mr Donkor assured the Chief that the concerns of the community would be tabled before the Chief Executive Officer of the Company for consideration. Source: Gha na News Agency