Day: April 30, 2023

A new Model Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) School under construction at Juaben in the Ashanti Region is set to absorb about 10 Junior High Schools (JHSs) when completed.

Funded by the Arab Development Bank, the school is one of five being constructed in the Ashanti Region as government pursues a new concept of JHS, which seeks to equip pupils at that level with 21st century skills.

Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister of Education who briefed the media on the new concept, said bringing JHSs in Juaben under one roof with well-equipped laboratories and other facilities was the way to go as a country to build a solid foundation for the education system.

He said if the concept was replicated across the country, it would not only cut down the cost of running schools, but also promote serene academic environment.

According to the Minister, the goal was to equip Junior High Schools in the country with facilities at the Senior High School (SHS) level to make pupils familiar with them as they progressed from the lower to higher secondary.

‘You cannot do 21st century education without putting the children in places where basic equipment and tools are made available to them,’ the Minister pointed out.

Exposing the children at that level to modern laboratory equipment, would make it easier for them to handle at the higher level and also hasten the learning process for improved outcomes, the Minister argued.

‘That is how you lift the weak middle to make sure you are putting the children in a situation where they have quality six-year secondary experience, which is the lower end before moving to the high school,’ he said

The Minister is on a four-day working visit to the Ashanti Region where he has been visiting selected Senior High Schools as well as project sites of ongoing educational infrastructure.

Accompanied by the Director-General of Ghana Education Service (GES), Dr. Eric Nkansah and heads of other agencies under the Ministry, Dr. Adutwum spent time in every school he visited to counsel students on academic progression and career development.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The University for Development Studies (UDS) has held its 23rd congregation with 7,072 students graduating with various degrees.

A total of 27 students graduated with PhDs, 261 graduated with master’s degrees while 6,784 were undergraduates.

Professor Seidu Al-hassan, Vice-chancellor of UDS, in his address said enrollments over the past five years had sharply increased and attributed it to the Free Senior High School Programme.

Professor Al-hassan said the University needed to improve on its infrastructure such as science laboratories, lecture halls, students’ accommodation, robust internet service amongst others to cater for the increased enrollment figures.

He appealed to the government, civil society organisations, and philanthropists to support the University to improve on academic facilities on its various campuses.

He said the University had recently established new schools and faculties, which would train more human resources to enhance socio-economic development of the country.

He mentioned the new schools, which included School of Business, School of Economics, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Law, and the Faculty of Social Sciences.

Alhaji Shani Ahassan Saibu, Northern Regional Minister, who delivered a speech on behalf of President Nana Akufo-Addo, said government was committed to expanding the use of modern technology in institutions, by establishing e-platforms for distance and virtual learning to ensure quality education in the country.

He gave assurance of government’s commitment to address the infrastructural challenges facing the University.

He entreated the graduands to accept National Service Scheme postings to wherever their services were needed to contribute to the country’s development.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Senior High Schools (SHSs)across the country have enough food to feed students without difficulties, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister of Education, has said.

He assured parents and stakeholders in education that there was no cause for alarm about reports of food shortages in schools, saying that government had put measures in place to ensure regular supply of food to schools.

The Minister was addressing the media at Osei Kyeretwie Senior High School (OKESS) which is one of the distribution centres for schools in the Kumasi Metropolis.

He was in the school as part of a four-day working visit in the Ashanti Region to engage with students and inspect ongoing projects.

He took advantage of the visit to inspect the warehouse which was stocked with large quantities of assorted foods such as rice, maize, beans, gari, flour and various kinds of canned foods.

Dr. Adutwum said as part of government’s efforts to ensure sustainable supply of food to the schools, it had contracted a company called Commodity Exchange to supply food in addition to the Buffer Stock.

He said the challenges of food supply associated with the implementation of the Free Senior High Schools informed the addition of Commodity Exchange to find lasting solution to the shortage of foods in schools.

‘We have also made sure funds for the purchase of perishables are released to the schools on time to ensure students are fed without excuses,’ the Minister stated.

He said the President was committed to addressing all challenges confronting the Free Education Programme to preserve the huge benefits of the programme for posterity.

Mr William Darkwa, the National Coordinator of the Free Senior High School Programme, said OKESS was one of 54 distribution centres across the country where food for the schools were stored.

He reiterated that there was adequate food in the schools, adding that, feeding the students was an important component of the programme that could not be compromised.

Source: Ghana News Agency