Lady Julia Unhappy about Rate of Indecent Dressing Among School Girls

Kumasi -Lady Julia Osei Tutu II, wife of the Asantehene has expressed her unhappiness about the high spate of indecent dressing which is gaining massive root among school girls, rather, they should focus on their academic work.

Lady Julia gave the advice when she embarked on a day familiarization tour to St. Louis Senior High School in Kumasi.

She observed that school girls of these days have failed to dress decently even while in school and indicated that some girls could even go to the extent of cutting down school uniforms which had been given to them by school authorities.

She advised the students to take their studies serious instead of engaging in indecent dressing which would not yield them any positive results in future.

She advised school girls to dress decently so not to expose essential parts of their body which could lead them into trouble and also urged them to learn to up hold the cultural heritage of their areas.

 Lady Julia expressed her worry on the high rate of teenage pregnancy among school girls in the region and appealed to parents as well as school authorities to intensify education on the effects of teenage pregnancy on the family, community and the country at large.

She commended both school authorities and students for maintaining high level of discipline in the school which has been the trademark of every Catholic institution in the country.

Lady Julia commended the Catholic Church for its key role as far education in the region is concerned.

Mrs. Theresah Addei Commey, headmistress of the school her part expressed her gratitude to lady Julia and her team for the visit and appealed to them to assist the school to have toilet facility for the students during classes hours and teachers accommodation to help increase the number of teachers on campus for effective supervision during and after school hours.

End

Managers of education to sign performance contracts - GES

Managers of Education would soon sign performance contracts, the Director General of Education, Dr Jacob Korh has disclosed.

The Director General of Education, who made this disclosure when he paid a working visit to the Upper East Region, expressed the hope that this would help arrest the fallen standards of education in the country.

He wondered why private schools, which have many untrained teachers, are able to teach students to perform well than those in the government schools, who have trained professional teachers, and attributed the trend to the lack of commitment, dedication and love for the teaching profession.

Dr Korh assigned the good performance of students in the private schools to the high level of supervision, which, he noted, culminates in increased time on task and the teachers high work output .

“Let me call on teachers to please lift up the banner of the profession. Your reward is here on earth and also in heaven, we shall not compromise on excellence”, the Director General cautioned.

He told the Managers of Education that, under the performance contract, all Regional and District Directors, Headmasters and Head teachers and teachers, including other categories of Staff, would be made to sign the performance contract.

He said the performance contract would be used as a yardstick to either promote or demote the Managers and mentioned among the criteria as good performance of students, high enrolment, lobbying on one’s own to bring development to a school, good discipline among students, punctual attendance to school and quality teaching.

The Director General, who admonished students to be law abiding, impressed upon them to take their studies seriously and eschew drug abuse, sexual promiscuity, pre-marital sex and examination malpractices.

Briefing the Director General about the educational challenges in the region, the Regional Director of Education, Mr Emmamuel Zumakpeh, mentioned the lack of office accommodation for District Directorates, Staff accommodation, Students dormitories and Classrooms.

He also mentioned the lack of means of transpiration, delay in the release of School Feeding Grants, lack of staff, lack of workshops and laboratories in some Senior High Schools, among others.

The Regional Director, who blamed the fallen standards of education partly to the above mentioned challenges, stated for instance that, the Talensi District Directorate of Education, which has been operating for a decade now had no office accommodation and said the three classroom block, which had been converted into an office accommodation is also housing the Director, accountant and other officers.

He said, apart from the four newly created Districts in the Region, which could boast of vehicles for Directors, the remaining nine District Directors had no vehicles, affecting monitoring and supervision as well as attending meetings in places like Kumasi and Accra.

“To compound the situation is the lack of school buses in the schools, which is also affecting academic and social activities. The School authorities are compelled to hire buses for the students any time they embark on educational trips or to participate in social activities elsewhere,” the Regional Director noted.

Mr Zumakpeh called on the Director General to assist in finding a lasting solution to the problems and arrest the fallen standards of education in the region.

The Director General gave the assurance that he would work to address some of their concerns within his powers and called on the Managers to furnish him with situational reports of the challenges.

Prior to the forum, the Regional Director led the Director General on field visits including to the Talensi Directorate of Education, Zorko Senior High school and Zamse Senior High Sec/Tech.

Source: GNA 

Minister urges teachers, doctors to maintain industrial peace

The Employment and Labour Relations Minister, Haruna Iddrisu has made a passionate appeal to the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) and the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG) not to embark on their planned industrial actions.

UTAG and POTAG have served notice of a strike if their book and research allowances are not paid.

Members of the GMA have all threatened to resign if issues concerning their conversion difference and conditions of service are not addressed.

Speaking at the two-day forum on the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS), the Minister revealed that he had received text messages from the presidents of POTAG and UTAG, reminding him of the payment of the book and research allowances.

He in turn reminded them that the book and research allowances has been scrapped and replaced with the book and research fund; a development they are both aware of.

“I reminded them that it was a collective decision to support government policy decision to replace that with the book and research fund,” he said.

Lecturers at public tertiary institutions since last year have been battling government not to scrap the research and book allowance.

They withdrew their services for a number of weeks over the issue, but the government refused to maintain the research and book allowance.

Mr. Iddrisu, therefore, recommended that the teacher unions should work together with government to help find a lasting solution to the problem.

He further urged them to “maintain the industrial peace and harmony on our campuses.”

Regarding the conversion difference and conditions of service for the members of the GMA, the Employment Minister indicated that he is fully aware of the threat by doctors in the country to resign by June 30, 2015.

The doctors want government to issue a collective bargaining agreement with them over their conditions of service.

According to the GMA, since the Ghana Health Service (GHS) was established in 1996, no conditions of service have been given to doctors although concerns have been raised several times.

They are thus determined to get the problem fixed to enable them get what is due them.

But the Minister nonetheless asked them to be “cautious not to declare an industrial action in undermining the peace that exists in the country.”

“On matters of market premium, computation of pensions which affect health workers and conclusion of processes leading to the adoption of conditions of service for health workers, the union should be assured that work is in progress.”
Source: citifmonline.com

Ministry of Education Press Release on Utility Fee

RELIGIOUS BODIES UNHAPPY WITH GOVERNMENT OVER DELAY OF THE SIGNING OF THE EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIP DOCUMENT

Two major religious bodies in Ghana have expressed their dissatisfaction with the government of Ghana over delaying of signing of the Educational Partnership Document which has been on the table for some period now.

This was contained in a press statement issued by the Christian Council of Ghana and the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference recently at Osu-Accra when they concluded their May 2015 Annual Joint Meeting.

The statement explained that over the years, Religious and other Bodies with schools had partnered with the State in education service delivery and that had ensured easy access, academic excellence and holistic moral upbringing of students in schools in the country.

The statement which was jointly signed by Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu ,President, Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference and Rt. Rev. Prof. Emmanuel K. Martey, Chairman, Christian Council of Ghana ,stated that, unfortunately, the absence of any document to guide that Partnership over the years had led to the gradual and systematic weakening of their stake in education delivery, evidence in the lack of collaboration with their Educational Managers, the withdrawal of their stipends and the general frustration of their work by some officials of the Ghana Education Service.

‘We think that it is truly unfair and objectionable to continue to ignore Religious and other Bodies who are major stakeholders in education service delivery in Ghana. We therefore call on Government as a matter of urgency to hasten the signing of the Education Partnership document and put in place the necessary structures and systems to ensure that it works and is respected by all’, the statement pointed out.

 Thursday, 07 May 2015 15:51

 By: Educational  News Team

Below is the full Press Statement:

PRESS STATEMENT BY THE CHRISTIAN COUNCIL OF GHANA AND THE GHANA CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE

Thursday, 07 May 2015 15:51

PRESS STATEMENT BY THE CHRISTIAN COUNCIL OF GHANA AND THE GHANA CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE

Preamble

Dearly beloved citizens and men and women of goodwill resident in Ghana, we, the heads of the Member-Churches of the Christian Council of Ghana and the members of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, send you our warmest greetings of peace and love. 

We believe that the joy of the Risen Lord and the hope of Easter still remain with you all.

Deliberations of the Joint Meeting

We have just concluded our May 2015 Annual Joint Meeting at Osu-Accra, during which we prayed and deliberated on issues of both Church and national importance. At the end of our meeting, we feel obliged as Christian leaders of our land to bring the following pertinent issues affecting our country to the attention of our Government and our citizens so we can all participate in the process of fashioning out a plan of action to address these issues together as one united people.

National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS)

We have followed with worry and anxiety all the happenings about the National Health Insurance Scheme and wish to state that we are very concerned about the sustainability of the Scheme if the current difficulties with it are not resolved expeditiously.

The continuous and repeated failure to reimburse facilities on time, the incessant threats of service withdrawal by service providers, among others, continue to plague the Scheme. Our health facilities are collapsing under the Scheme and the frustration of both staff and patients is unbearable.

In the present circumstances, therefore, we invite Government as a matter of urgency to come out to inform the citizenry about the true state of the Scheme and give us a clear roadmap for its sustainability or otherwise. We will equally appreciate a broad stakeholder consultation on the issue and we are ready to lead the process. Our institutions pioneered health insurance schemes in the country before it was adopted as a national policy.

Memorandum of Understanding on Church – State Partnership in Education

Over the years, Religious and other Bodies with schools have partnered the State in education service delivery and this has ensured easy access, academic excellence and holistic moral upbringing of students in schools. Unfortunately, the absence of any document to guide this Partnership over the years has led to the gradual and systematic weakening of our stake in education delivery, evident in the lack of collaboration with our Educational Managers, the withdrawal of their stipends and the general frustration of their work by some officials of the Ghana Education Service.

We think that it is truly unfair and objectionable to continue to ignore Religious and other Bodies who are major stakeholders in education service delivery in Ghana. We therefore call on Government as a matter of urgency to hasten the signing of the Education Partnership document and put in place the necessary structures and systems to ensure that it works and is respected by all.

Ghana’s Economy

We have received with surprise news that Ghana faces a real and serious risk of falling into the league of High Debt Distress Countries (HDDC) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the basis of Ghana’s excessive borrowing and indebtedness which is estimated to be about 76 billion Ghana Cedis as at December last year. We believe this is a cause for worry considering the fact that we came out of HIPC not too long ago. We call on the Government to do all it can to save the economy of our country from its current unstable and precarious state.

Meanwhile, we sincerely think that there is the need to revisit both the spirit and agenda of the Senchi Consensus which made concrete proposals to solve Ghana’s economic woes. We wish to know whether it has been abandoned due to the IMF bailout package or it has been incorporated into it.

We also pray that Government will listen to the calls of individuals and groups including Religious Bodies for the development of a long-term National Development Plan for our country, and initiate the process to develop one that will be respected and implemented by successive governments.

District Assembly Elections and 2016 General Elections

We seek to know what the plans are for the suspended District Assembly elections as well as the road map for Ghana’s General Elections in 2016. We propose that the Electoral Commission should begin in earnest the process of engagement with all stakeholders on the way forward for these elections. Pertinent issues such as the Voters’ Register, Biometric verification, creation of constituencies, among others, need to be addressed now. Related critical issues include the needed reforms to Ghana’s electoral system as per the various recommendations and the early and transparent appointment of a new Chairman of the Electoral Commission.

The year 2016 may seem far but it is not. Thus, we appeal to the EC to act expeditiously. 

Constitution Review Process

We are not happy about the fact that the Constitution review process seems stalled and yet there is no feedback from Government to citizens on plans to either continue or discontinue the process. We are aware of the case pending before the Supreme Court but we will be glad to receive information on how the process will be carried forward in the aftermath of this case so that we can all participate actively and fully in the process.

Petroleum Exploration and Revenue Management

It is our hope that proposals for the amendment of the current Petroleum Revenue Management Act, 2011 (Act 815) will be considered in the light of the good of Ghana so that Ghana and its citizens will be the greatest beneficiaries of the oil and gas find. We welcome Government’s efforts to introduce appropriate legislation to address current challenges of Petroleum exploration and production and call for an open and inclusive process with relevant stakeholders to achieve a good law.

We are also unhappy about the funding arrangements made for the oversight responsibility of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) which has remained a big challenge for some time now and call on government and corporate Ghana to help address this difficulty.

Power Outages in Ghana (Dumsor)

The current unfortunate situation of dumsor is seriously affecting the overall economy of the country. Industries, businesses and other social and economic activities are dying off gradually and systematically. In spite of Government’s promises and actions to ameliorate the situation, for close to 3 years, we have seen no improvement. We vehemently condemn the lack of serious practical short-term solutions to the crisis. Things are really hard for the productivity sector and waiting for too long will not do us any good.

Persecution of Christians in the World

We have noted with sadness and grief the systematic and persistent persecution and murder of Christians on the African continent and elsewhere in the world by Islamist terrorist groups. We strongly condemn these atrocities and call on all Ghanaians to pray for an end to these senseless killings.

In this connection, we commend the National Chief Imam, Sheik Dr. Usumanu Nuhu Sharubutu, for his appeal to Imams and leaders of the Muslim communities in Ghana to caution members of their congregations against the possible penetration of ideological influence of extremist groups. In particular, we commend him for his appeal to Imams to use their sermons to encourage members of their congregations to be watchful to identify and expose foreigners who may infiltrate the communities with signs of connection with extremists groups like Boko Haram and Al Qaeda, among others. As Ghanaians, we must continue to live in peace and harmony with one another and eschew all acts and tendencies that may bring ethnic, religious or political conflicts to Ghana.

Migration outside Africa

We are saddened by the news of many African migrants perishing in the deserts of northern Africa and the Mediterranean Sea and call on African states and Governments to institute proactive measures to curb this menace. We strongly urge African governments to do all they can to create the necessary conducive political and socio-economic environments and employment opportunities for our teeming unemployed youth. We equally encourage African youth to stay in their home countries and work hard to earn their daily keep. They must not assume that Europe and other places outside Africa guarantee automatic comforts and pleasure.

Conclusion

We pray that the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit may be with us all. God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and strong!

SIGNED

MOST REV. JOSEPH OSEI-BONSU

PRESIDENT, GHANA CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE

RT. REV. PROF. EMMANUEL K. MARTEY                

CHAIRMAN, CHRISTIAN COUNCIL OF GHANA