Story: Jennifer Dornoo
THE Sabon Zongo Youth Movement of the Abossey Okai sub-metro in Accra has organised an inter-Islamic School Quranic recital competition among six Islamic schools in the community.
The participating schools were Ummuriya, Markazil Fulenu, Sulemaniya, Nizaniya, Al-Fajir and Abnau Faida Islamic schools.
The President of the youth movement, Umaru Adamu Murtula, said the competition was to revamp the interest of Quran reading among the youth to help them address challenges that confronted them.
He said some unacceptable behaviour by the youth such as indiscipline and dirtiness were all challenges that had their solutions in the Quran.
He added that it was the aim of the youth movement to sensitise the youth in the community to the principles of Islam to enable them to live decent and righteous lives to enhance the image of the Islamic religion.
Sheikh Ahmad Tijani Haruna, a prominent elder in the Sabon Zongo community, urged the youth to study the Quran thoroughly in order to defend it against criticisms and manipulations, adding that some scholars translated the Quran to suit themselves by manipulating the content to make it lose its originality.
He advised the youth to pass on the knowledge acquired to their friends to make them knowledgeable, and encourage them to also read.
Mariya Abdulmunia from Nizaniya Islamic School emerged the winner of the competition out of 12 participants, and took home a cash prize of GH¢30 with three Qurans, six exercise books, a wall clock and a mathematical set.
Aabib Ango from Sulemaniya Islamic School came second and received GH¢20, three Qurans, six exercise books and one mathematical set with Samira Yussif also from the same school taking the third position.
Samira Yussif received a cash prize of GH¢10, two Qurans, six exercise books and a mathematical set.
Ukasha Muhid from Al-Fajir Islamic School took the fourth prize, which included two Qurans, six exercise books and one mathematical set.
Khadija Imam from Nizaniya Islamic School, Maryam Muhid Yussif from Abnau Faida Islamic School, Husaina Nuhu and Hasana Nuhu from Ummuriya Islamic School, Luwaisa Ibrahim from Abnau Faida Islamic School, Usman Muhsin from Al-Fajir Islamic School, Malik Masud and Suraiya Alhassan from Markazil Fuleum Islamic School took the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth positions respectively.
They received one Quran, four exercise books and a mathematical set each.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Beware of visa frauds(9/02/09)
THE Head of the Visa section of the German Embassy, Mrs Malchereck-Gassel, has cautioned Ghanaians against travel agents who demand huge sums of money as fees to secure them visas from the German Embassy.
She said these middlemen only provided fake documents which could lead innocent people into serious trouble and, therefore, urged all prospective applicants for German visas to go through the right procedure.
Speaking at a symposium for students who had interest to study and research in Germany in Accra at the weekend, she said information regarding visa procedures, requirements and individual applications could only be obtained from the visa officers of the embassy and not from security staff or any other third party.
Mrs Malchereck-Gassel encouraged visa applicants to process their applications well in advance of the enrolment deadline since all student visa applications were forwarded to responsible immigration authorities in Germany for approval within six to 10 weeks.
The Director of the German Academic Exchange service (DAAD), Dr. Heike Edelmann-Okinda also advised students to seek counselling and advice before applying for visas to study in Germany.
She said that was because most student visa applicants failed to meet the expectations and requirements of the embassy and that led to the rejection of their application for Visas.
Dr. Edelmann-Okinda said the symposium was to inform Ghanaian students of the free tertiary education opportunities in Germany and provide them with the appropriate information to apply for Visas.
She said DAAD was a non-profit organisation that sought to help Ghanaian students to attain a high level of education in English and German programs from degree to the PhD level.
She advised Ghanaians to take advantage of the free education opportunities Germany was offering by applying and seeking face-to-face advice’s at the Goethe Institute before applying to the universities.
According to her, students who were applying with Bachelors degrees could only apply with a second class upper in a relevant discipline which had been attained within six years with two years professional experience.
She said the applicants should also be able to afford 634 euros per month to cater for accommodation, food and other utilities since tuition fees was free and in most cases very moderate.
She said these middlemen only provided fake documents which could lead innocent people into serious trouble and, therefore, urged all prospective applicants for German visas to go through the right procedure.
Speaking at a symposium for students who had interest to study and research in Germany in Accra at the weekend, she said information regarding visa procedures, requirements and individual applications could only be obtained from the visa officers of the embassy and not from security staff or any other third party.
Mrs Malchereck-Gassel encouraged visa applicants to process their applications well in advance of the enrolment deadline since all student visa applications were forwarded to responsible immigration authorities in Germany for approval within six to 10 weeks.
The Director of the German Academic Exchange service (DAAD), Dr. Heike Edelmann-Okinda also advised students to seek counselling and advice before applying for visas to study in Germany.
She said that was because most student visa applicants failed to meet the expectations and requirements of the embassy and that led to the rejection of their application for Visas.
Dr. Edelmann-Okinda said the symposium was to inform Ghanaian students of the free tertiary education opportunities in Germany and provide them with the appropriate information to apply for Visas.
She said DAAD was a non-profit organisation that sought to help Ghanaian students to attain a high level of education in English and German programs from degree to the PhD level.
She advised Ghanaians to take advantage of the free education opportunities Germany was offering by applying and seeking face-to-face advice’s at the Goethe Institute before applying to the universities.
According to her, students who were applying with Bachelors degrees could only apply with a second class upper in a relevant discipline which had been attained within six years with two years professional experience.
She said the applicants should also be able to afford 634 euros per month to cater for accommodation, food and other utilities since tuition fees was free and in most cases very moderate.
PHC inaugurates passenger car unit (9/02/09)
PHC Motors Limited has inaugurated a new $2.5 million Passenger Car Business Unit (PCBU) service facility to provide affordable quality services to its customers.
The facility is also to service and maintain PHC Motor’s Tata passenger range of vehicles, which include Tata Safari Four Wheel Drive (4x4), Tata Sumo, Tata Indigo Station Wagon and Sedan and Tata Indica Hatchback.
The Managing Director of PHC Motors, Mr Paul Kwabena Pepra said the facility would ran on 24 hours everyday to help improve customer needs and requirements.
He said PHC Motors would organise free diagnostic programmes throughout the year for all the Tata passenger cars.
Mr Pepra stated that PHC motors in collaboration with the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Authority (DVLA) would offer training programmes and driver tit bits to customers.
The Regional Sales Manager at PHC Motors for the Tata Passenger Car Division, Ms Geena Punjabi said the facility was fully equipped with 10 bays with a customer relations department, a finance department, parts department and a separate customer relations unit taxis.
“The development within the company’s infrastructure is just another extension of our mission and we desire to provide excellent customer service satisfaction to our customers,” she added.
The Deputy General Manager, Sales and Marketing of Tata Motors Limited, Africa, Mr Surinder Nijhawan said PHC Motors was building a training school for regular training of their workshop staff to continuously upgrade their skills.
“To cater for the needs of customers outside Accra, PHC is also enhancing its presence in six other cities throughout Ghana,” he said.
Mr Nijhawan assured customers that Tata and its dealers in the country was committed to providing world class products and after sales service to meet the needs of its customers.
The facility is also to service and maintain PHC Motor’s Tata passenger range of vehicles, which include Tata Safari Four Wheel Drive (4x4), Tata Sumo, Tata Indigo Station Wagon and Sedan and Tata Indica Hatchback.
The Managing Director of PHC Motors, Mr Paul Kwabena Pepra said the facility would ran on 24 hours everyday to help improve customer needs and requirements.
He said PHC Motors would organise free diagnostic programmes throughout the year for all the Tata passenger cars.
Mr Pepra stated that PHC motors in collaboration with the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Authority (DVLA) would offer training programmes and driver tit bits to customers.
The Regional Sales Manager at PHC Motors for the Tata Passenger Car Division, Ms Geena Punjabi said the facility was fully equipped with 10 bays with a customer relations department, a finance department, parts department and a separate customer relations unit taxis.
“The development within the company’s infrastructure is just another extension of our mission and we desire to provide excellent customer service satisfaction to our customers,” she added.
The Deputy General Manager, Sales and Marketing of Tata Motors Limited, Africa, Mr Surinder Nijhawan said PHC Motors was building a training school for regular training of their workshop staff to continuously upgrade their skills.
“To cater for the needs of customers outside Accra, PHC is also enhancing its presence in six other cities throughout Ghana,” he said.
Mr Nijhawan assured customers that Tata and its dealers in the country was committed to providing world class products and after sales service to meet the needs of its customers.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Vocational and technical need more attention (9/2/9)
Story: Jennifer Dornoo & Gifty Bamfo
THE Director for Organisations and Programmes of the National Youth Council, Mr Etsibah Mensah, has called on the government to pay more attention to vocational and technical skills education in the country.
“This would assist the youth in acquiring appropriate technical and vocational skills in the nation’s quest to becoming a middle-level income country,” he said.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Mensah said the greatest challenge of the youth who had acquired technical and vocational skills was the competition they faced with their products in the face of cheaper products from foreign countries.
“Most Ghanaians today prefer to buy cheap second-hand clothes to locally made tie and dye shirts hanging in a shop,” he stated.
He stressed the need for the youth to be re-oriented in producing and consuming locally manufactured goods.
Mr Mensah said this would promote the Ghanaian economy, which had become liberalised as a result of the low patronage of locally manufactured goods.
He said the youth had to learn how to appreciate things that had been produced locally to boost youth employment in the vocational and technical sector of the country and further strengthen the economy.
He said there was the need for the government to invest in the youth who had acquired various skills by making micro credits accessible to them to help them to produce in large quantities and make their products cheap and affordable to Ghanaians.
Mr Mensah said the current educational system in the country did not favour the society, since the “classroom education” did not have any impact on the Ghanaian society.
He said formal education made students “aliens in their own society” and rather made them feel part of the Western world, since the knowledge they acquired did not have any reflection on who they really were.
THE Director for Organisations and Programmes of the National Youth Council, Mr Etsibah Mensah, has called on the government to pay more attention to vocational and technical skills education in the country.
“This would assist the youth in acquiring appropriate technical and vocational skills in the nation’s quest to becoming a middle-level income country,” he said.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Mensah said the greatest challenge of the youth who had acquired technical and vocational skills was the competition they faced with their products in the face of cheaper products from foreign countries.
“Most Ghanaians today prefer to buy cheap second-hand clothes to locally made tie and dye shirts hanging in a shop,” he stated.
He stressed the need for the youth to be re-oriented in producing and consuming locally manufactured goods.
Mr Mensah said this would promote the Ghanaian economy, which had become liberalised as a result of the low patronage of locally manufactured goods.
He said the youth had to learn how to appreciate things that had been produced locally to boost youth employment in the vocational and technical sector of the country and further strengthen the economy.
He said there was the need for the government to invest in the youth who had acquired various skills by making micro credits accessible to them to help them to produce in large quantities and make their products cheap and affordable to Ghanaians.
Mr Mensah said the current educational system in the country did not favour the society, since the “classroom education” did not have any impact on the Ghanaian society.
He said formal education made students “aliens in their own society” and rather made them feel part of the Western world, since the knowledge they acquired did not have any reflection on who they really were.
Vocational Training for youth in Central business district (5/2/9)
Story:Gifty Bamfo & Jennifer Dornoo
SOME youth of Agbogbloshie, Konkomba, Sodom and Gomorrah and Abuja, all in the central business district of Accra, are to benefit from a three-year technical and vocational skills training programme.
The programme, which is free, is intended to provide the youth with skills in auto-repairs, auto-electricals and wielding through the Youth Leadership and Skills Training Institute under the National Youth Council (NYC).
This would be in addition to existing skills training in the areas of carpentry, dress making, and building construction, among others, being provided by the NYC to some of the youth in these areas.
Briefing the press, the Acting National Co-ordinator of the NYC, Mr Archibald Donkoh, said a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to that effect had already been signed between the NYC and the Great Imperial Company Limited of the Kristo Asafo Church at Gomoa Mpota in the Central Region.
The group were at the residence of the Head of the Kristo Asafo Church and owner of the Great Imperial Company Limited, Apostle Kwadwo Safo, to formally introduce themselves and brief him about the joint project.
Mr Donkoh said the training was aimed at equipping the youth with sustainable economic livelihood skills, especially the vulnerable and those out of school.
“The training centre would also provide opportunities for the youth in the 11 vocational and technical institutes under the NYC across the country to have internship programmes to upgrade themselves and be equipped with entrepreneurial skills,” he added.
He said the centre would help the youth to establish themselves in their various regions and also pass on the skills acquired to other people.
Mr Donkoh noted that the move would create jobs in the rural areas and help reduce the increasing rate of rural-urban migration.
Apostle Kwadwo Safo called on the government to pay more attention to vocational and technical skills education, because it held the key to the nation’s quest for becoming a middle-level income country.
He urged entrepreneurs and inventors to pass on their knowledge and skills to the younger generation for the benefit of the country.
Apostle Safo pledged to help the youth to acquire the needed skills and knowledge to help enhance the development of the country.
SOME youth of Agbogbloshie, Konkomba, Sodom and Gomorrah and Abuja, all in the central business district of Accra, are to benefit from a three-year technical and vocational skills training programme.
The programme, which is free, is intended to provide the youth with skills in auto-repairs, auto-electricals and wielding through the Youth Leadership and Skills Training Institute under the National Youth Council (NYC).
This would be in addition to existing skills training in the areas of carpentry, dress making, and building construction, among others, being provided by the NYC to some of the youth in these areas.
Briefing the press, the Acting National Co-ordinator of the NYC, Mr Archibald Donkoh, said a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to that effect had already been signed between the NYC and the Great Imperial Company Limited of the Kristo Asafo Church at Gomoa Mpota in the Central Region.
The group were at the residence of the Head of the Kristo Asafo Church and owner of the Great Imperial Company Limited, Apostle Kwadwo Safo, to formally introduce themselves and brief him about the joint project.
Mr Donkoh said the training was aimed at equipping the youth with sustainable economic livelihood skills, especially the vulnerable and those out of school.
“The training centre would also provide opportunities for the youth in the 11 vocational and technical institutes under the NYC across the country to have internship programmes to upgrade themselves and be equipped with entrepreneurial skills,” he added.
He said the centre would help the youth to establish themselves in their various regions and also pass on the skills acquired to other people.
Mr Donkoh noted that the move would create jobs in the rural areas and help reduce the increasing rate of rural-urban migration.
Apostle Kwadwo Safo called on the government to pay more attention to vocational and technical skills education, because it held the key to the nation’s quest for becoming a middle-level income country.
He urged entrepreneurs and inventors to pass on their knowledge and skills to the younger generation for the benefit of the country.
Apostle Safo pledged to help the youth to acquire the needed skills and knowledge to help enhance the development of the country.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
European Union donates equipments to Civil service organisations(3/02/09)
EIGHT civil society organisations in the country have benefited from information technology equipment, office furniture and medical supplies worth GH¢11,487 donated by the European Commission delegation to Ghana.
The equipment were used by the European Union Election Observation Mission to Ghana (EU EOM) during their observation of the December 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections.
The beneficiary organisations were the Cardinal Foundation for Distance Learning (CADFIL), Ripples Health Care Partners in Community Development Programme (PACODEP), Women’s Wing, PAFA Foundation, Research and Counselling Foundation for African Migrants (RECFAM), Friends for Human Development and Health and Wellness Foundation.
The Head of the European Commission Delegation to Ghana, Mr Filiberto Ceriani Sebregondi, said the equipment were donated to the organisations because of the crucial role they played in monitoring the elections, promoting health education, rights of women, the underprivileged and people living with HIV/AIDS.
He said the organisations represented different aspects of the Ghanaian civil society such as human rights, democracy, working for health and HIV/AIDS awareness and child care in the country.
Mr Sebregondi said that was also part of a capacity-building action for civil society organisations by the European Union delegation to help them work effectively in important events organised in the country.
He hoped the equipment would be of great use to the organisations.
Professor Alex Asiedu of the Department of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana who spoke on behalf of the beneficiaries expressed his deepest appreciation to the European Commission delegation to Ghana..
He was optimistic that the equipment was going to facilitate the work of the civil society organisations in the country.
The equipment were used by the European Union Election Observation Mission to Ghana (EU EOM) during their observation of the December 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections.
The beneficiary organisations were the Cardinal Foundation for Distance Learning (CADFIL), Ripples Health Care Partners in Community Development Programme (PACODEP), Women’s Wing, PAFA Foundation, Research and Counselling Foundation for African Migrants (RECFAM), Friends for Human Development and Health and Wellness Foundation.
The Head of the European Commission Delegation to Ghana, Mr Filiberto Ceriani Sebregondi, said the equipment were donated to the organisations because of the crucial role they played in monitoring the elections, promoting health education, rights of women, the underprivileged and people living with HIV/AIDS.
He said the organisations represented different aspects of the Ghanaian civil society such as human rights, democracy, working for health and HIV/AIDS awareness and child care in the country.
Mr Sebregondi said that was also part of a capacity-building action for civil society organisations by the European Union delegation to help them work effectively in important events organised in the country.
He hoped the equipment would be of great use to the organisations.
Professor Alex Asiedu of the Department of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana who spoke on behalf of the beneficiaries expressed his deepest appreciation to the European Commission delegation to Ghana..
He was optimistic that the equipment was going to facilitate the work of the civil society organisations in the country.
Monday, February 2, 2009
“School feeding programme must not be selective” (2/2/09)
Story: Jennifer Dornoo and Gifty Bamfo
THE Leader of a youth advocacy development organisation, the Public Youth and Students Movement of Ghana (PUSMOG), Mr Fredrick Duncan Modzabi, has called on the government to stop the selective free feeding of children in basic schools.
He has rather suggested the building of more public schools for the country, since such schools were inadequate and teaching and learning had to be controlled on a shift basis.
Other public schools were in a state of dilapidation and needed renovation, he noted.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, he described the school feeding programme as a misuse of public funds that could be invested meaningfully in developing infrastructure in the education sector.
He said the inadequacy of public schools in the country put a stress on head teachers to admit more pupils than necessarily required in a class.
That resulted in the running of morning and afternoon shifts in schools making education ineffective in Ghana.
Mr Modzabi said these were the fundamental causes of the decline in standards of education in public schools in the country, since teachers were not able to control and assess the increasing number of pupils in the class.
He said since Ghana attained independence in 1957, little had been done by government to build more schools.
He said some schools currently under the supervision of the government were schools built by religious and international organisations, such as the Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic churches.
Mr Modzabi said the private sector owned and controlled three quarters of educational facilities in the country from crèche to the university level, and most of these were not affordable to the masses.
In public schools in certain parts of the country, two classes had to use one classroom with one chalkboard, while others who had to study under trees and dilapidated structures that were traps, were threatened by the slightest rainfall.
“It will be meaningless for the government to proclaim itself to the international world that it has free education and free feeding while the mass of school children are not receiving quality education,” he added.
THE Leader of a youth advocacy development organisation, the Public Youth and Students Movement of Ghana (PUSMOG), Mr Fredrick Duncan Modzabi, has called on the government to stop the selective free feeding of children in basic schools.
He has rather suggested the building of more public schools for the country, since such schools were inadequate and teaching and learning had to be controlled on a shift basis.
Other public schools were in a state of dilapidation and needed renovation, he noted.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, he described the school feeding programme as a misuse of public funds that could be invested meaningfully in developing infrastructure in the education sector.
He said the inadequacy of public schools in the country put a stress on head teachers to admit more pupils than necessarily required in a class.
That resulted in the running of morning and afternoon shifts in schools making education ineffective in Ghana.
Mr Modzabi said these were the fundamental causes of the decline in standards of education in public schools in the country, since teachers were not able to control and assess the increasing number of pupils in the class.
He said since Ghana attained independence in 1957, little had been done by government to build more schools.
He said some schools currently under the supervision of the government were schools built by religious and international organisations, such as the Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic churches.
Mr Modzabi said the private sector owned and controlled three quarters of educational facilities in the country from crèche to the university level, and most of these were not affordable to the masses.
In public schools in certain parts of the country, two classes had to use one classroom with one chalkboard, while others who had to study under trees and dilapidated structures that were traps, were threatened by the slightest rainfall.
“It will be meaningless for the government to proclaim itself to the international world that it has free education and free feeding while the mass of school children are not receiving quality education,” he added.
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