Fallen standards in education in Ghana blamed on logistics

Fallen standards in education in Ghana blamed on logistics

Mr Seth Badu, the acting Headmaster of Kwabre Senior High School in the Nkoranza South District of the Brong Ahafo region has attributed the fallen standards of education to the failure of government to provide the necessary logistics to boost the morale of teachers.

“Some logistics meant for schools will arrive late when a greater part of the academic year will be gone and such a situation undoubtedly affects teaching and learning”, he said.

Speaking at a forum organised by the Nkoranza Students Union, Mr Badu said the lack of accommodation for teachers, especially those in deprived communities, was a major challenge facing education in the area as a number of teachers refused postings to such areas.

He said the refusal of some parents to provide the needs of their children tended to move such children on to the streets to join bad peer groups and indulge in social vices.

Mr Badu said teachers who indulged in frequent absenteeism and alcoholism must stop, and advised students to respect their teachers so they could become responsible citizens in future.

Rev. Canon Peter Kwadwo Sakyi, in charge of the Saint Barnabas Anglican Church at Nkoranza, urged metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to arrange for incentive packages for hardworking teachers in their areas to encourage them to give off their best.

Rev Kubi Asuama Yeboah, Acting Nkoranza District Director of Education, advised the two district assemblies to arrange for sponsorship for brilliant but needy students.

He called for bye-laws to check the attendance of school children at video shows, concerts, funerals and dance sessions.

Source: GNA

Kidnappers of German nurse appear before High Court

The trial of seven persons allegedly involved in the kidnapping of a German nurse, would now take place at an Accra High Court in September, a Chief State Attorney said on Tuesday.

Ms Pennelope Ann Mamata, who disclosed this before an Accra Circuit Court where the accused are standing trial, said the Kofi Annan ICT Centre in Accra had also declared its readiness to provide assistance for part of the trial to be heard via video conferencing.

The accused, Godwin Husunugbo, aka Shunton, Isaac Amuzu, James Afari, aka Bob, Roland Gyan, aka Alvin Walker, Dennis Asamoah, aka Bigi and Kwadwo Kwarteng have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, robbery and kidnapping. Daniel Abebrese, aka Pius, an accomplice, is at large.

The accused persons were said to have lured Sonaj Kaiser, a 58 year-old German nurse, to Ghana, kidnapped and assaulted her and demanded a ransom of 150,000 Euros.

Ms Mamata said the complainant had indicated that she would not be able to visit Ghana to testify but her country’s Foreign Affairs Ministry had indicated its readies to conduct the trial via video conference, so that the complainant’s evidence would be obtained.

The defence team, however, prayed the Circuit Court to admit Husunugbo to bail because he had tuberculosis and was coughing badly.

Ms Mamata, however, asked defence team to provide a medical report on the ailment of the accused and file a motion to buttress the argument.

The court agreed to the request of the State Attorney and ordered the Police investigator in the case to send the accused person to hospital, saying, “The accused persons need to be alive so that they could defend themselves”.

It remanded the accused persons to prison custody to reappear on August 25.

The prosecution said for sometime, Gyan and Asamoah had been chatting with the victim on the internet claiming that they were British nationals, resident in Ghana.

Gyan therefore demanded from the victim 5,000 Euros. She offered him 2,000 Euros and this was cashed by Asamoah through Western Union in Cape Coast.

The prosecution said on January 2, Gyan and Asamoah lured the victim to Ghana and she was met on arrival by Husunugbo who picked her and sent her to a house occupied by Abebrese and Boateng at Taifa in Accra.

In the house the victim was brutally assaulted and robbed of her belongings namely two mobile phones, a canon digital camera all valued at 658 Euros as well an amount of 400 Euros.

The prosecution said Gyan received GH¢120 as his share while the rest received GH¢80 each.

They further demanded a ransom of 150,000 Euros from the victim’s son before releasing her.

The victim’s son after agreeing to pay 35,000 Euros, alerted the German Police who also informed the German Embassy in Ghana.

The German police, together with Ghanaian security personnel, arrested the accused persons.

Source: GNA

Mid-term budget to be presented this month

Vice President John Dramani Mahama said on Tuesday that government would present a mid-term budget to Parliament this month to review the fiscal year.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday in an interview, he said the review would make it possible for the government to support the public sector, which had been severely hit by the 2009 Budget.

He said through sound economic management, the government had paid more than GH¢500 million out of the GH¢1.4 billion arrears, which was owed to contractors.

Vice President Mahama said the payment did not cover debts incurred by some district assemblies which had approved contracts that had exceeded their share of the Districts Assemblies’ Common Fund.

He said the debt portfolio could not be paid even by 2012.

The Vice President said that was the reason why President John Evans Atta Mill had ordered a forensic audit of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies.

Mr Mahama said the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) had managed the more than one billion Ghana cedis oil deficit it inherited in such a way that the economy did not grind to a halt.

The Vice President said the Government had stabilized the cedi and fairly managed the inflation rate, which had started dropping.

He said by next year the current budget deficit would be settled to facilitate salary enhancement for workers.

The Vice President said it was ironic that those who ruined the economy had now turned round to be accusing the NDC Government for the hardship the country was facing.

Mr Mahama said the President had no immediate plans to reshuffle his Ministers, because some of the members of the Executive had spent barely four months in office.

He said the Policy, Monitoring and Evaluation Team had just been put in place to give objective appraisal on the performance of government appointees.

Source: GNA

Ghana’s economy is on track – Duffuor

The economy is more stable now than it was at the beginning of the year, Finance Minister Dr Kwabena Duffuor said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the signing of performance contracts for 32 State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), the Minister said key macro-economic indicators continued to show positive signals, resulting in the gradual stabilisation in the cedi exchange rate and the rate of inflation.

The Minister said as at the end of June the budget deficit had dropped to 3.4 per cent of GDP as compared to 5.7 per cent of GDP during the same period in 2008.

The rate of depreciation of the dollar/cedi rate at the interbank market, which stood at 5.4 per cent in January, dropped to 0.2 per cent while at the Forex Bureau market it fell from 6.8 per cent in January to 0.13 per cent in June.

The Finance Minister said inflation had stabilized and was expected to go down in the coming months.

The rate of inflation now stands at 20.74 per cent.

“On the whole it is clear that the economy is on track,” Dr Duffuor said, adding, that huge arrears commitment remained a risk.

He said the Government would do everything to create the enabling environment and urged the SOEs to position themselves to take advantage of the opportunities the economy offered to help to transform the enterprises from local entities to international competitive ones.

Source: GNA