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Feb 12, 2008
THE Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have begun a training programme to equip front-line officers of three African countries with the relevant skills to detect and identify offensive nuclear and radioactive materials.
The move is to help prevent nuclear threats in the sub-region.
Opening a five-day training course for 18 front-line officers from Ghana, Nigeria and Sudan, the National Security Co-ordinator, Dr Sam G. Amoo, said by organising the workshop, the IAEA and GAEC were taking practical steps in contributing to world efforts at halting trafficking of dangerous and offensive weapons.
Through the IAEA, he said, countries were developing nuclear and radiation standards and legally binding conventions relevant to safety and security alongside the development of the benefits of nuclear technology to better the lot of society.
According to him, world peace could not be compromised by any means of human endeavours.
Dr Amoo indicated that the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 1540 of 2004 affirmed that the “proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, as well as their means of delivery, constitutes a threat to international peace and security”.
In line with this, he said, the council had resolved to take appropriate and effective actions against any threat to international peace and security caused by the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their means of delivery.
“The United Nations and the international community are concerned about the threat of terrorism and illicit trafficking in nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and are, therefore, determined to facilitate an effective response to global threats in the area of non-proliferation,” he said.
Dr Amoo said the National Security Council would do everything possible to assist the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission and join the global community in fighting nuclear terrorism.
The Director General of GAEC, Prof. E.H.K. Akaho, said the training programme, which was the second, amply demonstrated the importance the agency placed on the need to halt global nuclear threat.
According to him, there was the urgent need for awareness creation on the issue, adding that it was for that reason that safety and protection rules should not be taken for granted.
As a practical step, he said, GAEC had requested for assistance from the Ministry for National Security to evaluate the physical protection of its facilities.
Prof. Akaho said nuclear threat was a global menace to peace and expressed the hope that the training course would equip the participants with the relevant skills in the use of advanced equipment in detecting offensive materials.
The “Advanced Detection Equipment” training course, which is dedicated to the development of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, is being organised by the Radiation Protection Institute of GAEC and the IAEA.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Pay PTA levies into mainstream accounts-GES
Page 43
Feb 14, 2008
THE Ghana Education Service (GES) has directed that all parent-teacher association (PTA) levies of second-cycle schools be incorporated into the mainstream accounts of the schools.
The move, it said, was to ensure transparency in the use of the levies, among other things.
A letter signed by the Director-General of the GES, Mr Samuel Bannerman-Mensah, said, “All PTA levies and related expenditure should be captured in the financial statements of the institutions, even though separate cash books could be kept for easy tracking of data.”
That, it said, implied that the institutional accountant would collect all levies and pay same to the appropriate bank account.
The letter, which was distributed to all heads of senior high schools (SHS), principals of technical institutions and principals of teacher training colleges, said it had come to the notice of the GES management that in some schools PTA levies on students were operated outside the schools’ official accounting records.
“In some worst situations the executives of the PTAs have been the sole signatories to the bank accounts for the operation of the funds,” it explained.
It said since the PTA levy was being treated as a public fund, it should be operated in line with all existing financial regulations, such as passing of supplies through the stores, adding that all approved activities should be directed to the institutional accountant who would initiate the payment process and file all payment vouchers plus appropriate attachments for auditing.
“The head of the institution, with the support of his accountant, will provide the PTA with a situational report at its meetings. The signatories to the bank account for operating levies shall be the headmaster, the accountant and the PTA chairman as automatic member,” it stated.
The letter indicated that all other charges for students’ clothing, textbooks, furniture, among other things, should be passed through the books of accounts and all purchases routed through the stores, and that under no circumstances should desks be created for supplies at the schools for the collection of money against supplies.
It said although management recognised the important role PTAs played in the development of the various institutions, it would not support any head of institution who helped to collect unapproved PTA levies, adding that “laid down procedures should always be followed”.
Feb 14, 2008
THE Ghana Education Service (GES) has directed that all parent-teacher association (PTA) levies of second-cycle schools be incorporated into the mainstream accounts of the schools.
The move, it said, was to ensure transparency in the use of the levies, among other things.
A letter signed by the Director-General of the GES, Mr Samuel Bannerman-Mensah, said, “All PTA levies and related expenditure should be captured in the financial statements of the institutions, even though separate cash books could be kept for easy tracking of data.”
That, it said, implied that the institutional accountant would collect all levies and pay same to the appropriate bank account.
The letter, which was distributed to all heads of senior high schools (SHS), principals of technical institutions and principals of teacher training colleges, said it had come to the notice of the GES management that in some schools PTA levies on students were operated outside the schools’ official accounting records.
“In some worst situations the executives of the PTAs have been the sole signatories to the bank accounts for the operation of the funds,” it explained.
It said since the PTA levy was being treated as a public fund, it should be operated in line with all existing financial regulations, such as passing of supplies through the stores, adding that all approved activities should be directed to the institutional accountant who would initiate the payment process and file all payment vouchers plus appropriate attachments for auditing.
“The head of the institution, with the support of his accountant, will provide the PTA with a situational report at its meetings. The signatories to the bank account for operating levies shall be the headmaster, the accountant and the PTA chairman as automatic member,” it stated.
The letter indicated that all other charges for students’ clothing, textbooks, furniture, among other things, should be passed through the books of accounts and all purchases routed through the stores, and that under no circumstances should desks be created for supplies at the schools for the collection of money against supplies.
It said although management recognised the important role PTAs played in the development of the various institutions, it would not support any head of institution who helped to collect unapproved PTA levies, adding that “laid down procedures should always be followed”.
CHASS calls for debate on subsidy
Page 64
Feb 14, 2008
THE President of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), Mr Samuel Ofori-Adjei, has called for national debate on whether or not the government should continue paying subsidy for all students in second cycle schools.
“I think there are some parents who are capable of funding their children’s education and they should be encouraged to do so. Those with special needs can be identified and catered for,” he said in an interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday.
Presently, about 80 per cent of students in the well-endowed senior high schools came from private basic schools where some of them paid as much as three times the current fees charged at the second cycle level per term.
Mr Ofori-Adjei said a lot of resources were needed to provide more teaching and learning materials and expand infrastructure to accommodate more students.
The subsidies paid by the government cover general stationery, first aid, building maintenance, sports fee, cultural fee and sanitation. The rest are postage, reports of cumulative records, textbook user fee, practical fee and furniture maintenance. Hitherto, fees charged on these were paid by parents, but the government decided to take care of them.
The key funding sources for the subsidy scheme had been the HIPC and the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund).
For 2002/2003, the amount paid for 310,995 students was GH¢ 7,028,487.00 (¢70,284,870,000.00) while for 2003/2004, GH¢ 10,013,346.90 (¢100,133,469,000.00) was paid for 349,506 students.
For 2004/2005, the amount paid for 378,832 students was GH¢ 12,399,171.36 (¢123,991.713,600.00). An amount of ¢137,762,206,500, equivalent to GH¢ 13,776,220.65, was paid for 420,905 students during 2005/2006.
The figures paid from 2002 to 2006 included those for utilities.
Mr Ofori-Adjei said there was the need for a national debate for stakeholders to make inputs on the matter.
He said the delay in the release of the subsidy was not only affecting academic activities, but other activities in the schools, adding that but for the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) levies, things would have gone bad.
“We sometimes use part of the PTA levies till the subsidy is released and the PTA reimbursed,” he explained, adding that sometimes schools used moneys that should have otherwise been used for other purposes to pay for things that the subsidy should have taken care of.
Mr Ofori-Adjei said CHASS would ensure that heads of schools submitted their signed lists of students on time so as not to delay the release of the subsidy, since the signed lists, which contain the names and number of students, were used in releasing the money.
He, however, suggested that the government could go ahead and release the subsidy for continuing students as schools took steps to get signed lists of their first-year students.
The government had been concerned about fees paid by students and in September 2001, it gave a directive that the level of fees to be charged should not exceed that of the previous level, even though approval was given for an increase in feeding fee from 23GHp to 30GHp per day.
The government, therefore, agreed to subsidise the difference between the old fees and that of the new fees with GH¢31.00 per student per annum.
Feb 14, 2008
THE President of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), Mr Samuel Ofori-Adjei, has called for national debate on whether or not the government should continue paying subsidy for all students in second cycle schools.
“I think there are some parents who are capable of funding their children’s education and they should be encouraged to do so. Those with special needs can be identified and catered for,” he said in an interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday.
Presently, about 80 per cent of students in the well-endowed senior high schools came from private basic schools where some of them paid as much as three times the current fees charged at the second cycle level per term.
Mr Ofori-Adjei said a lot of resources were needed to provide more teaching and learning materials and expand infrastructure to accommodate more students.
The subsidies paid by the government cover general stationery, first aid, building maintenance, sports fee, cultural fee and sanitation. The rest are postage, reports of cumulative records, textbook user fee, practical fee and furniture maintenance. Hitherto, fees charged on these were paid by parents, but the government decided to take care of them.
The key funding sources for the subsidy scheme had been the HIPC and the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund).
For 2002/2003, the amount paid for 310,995 students was GH¢ 7,028,487.00 (¢70,284,870,000.00) while for 2003/2004, GH¢ 10,013,346.90 (¢100,133,469,000.00) was paid for 349,506 students.
For 2004/2005, the amount paid for 378,832 students was GH¢ 12,399,171.36 (¢123,991.713,600.00). An amount of ¢137,762,206,500, equivalent to GH¢ 13,776,220.65, was paid for 420,905 students during 2005/2006.
The figures paid from 2002 to 2006 included those for utilities.
Mr Ofori-Adjei said there was the need for a national debate for stakeholders to make inputs on the matter.
He said the delay in the release of the subsidy was not only affecting academic activities, but other activities in the schools, adding that but for the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) levies, things would have gone bad.
“We sometimes use part of the PTA levies till the subsidy is released and the PTA reimbursed,” he explained, adding that sometimes schools used moneys that should have otherwise been used for other purposes to pay for things that the subsidy should have taken care of.
Mr Ofori-Adjei said CHASS would ensure that heads of schools submitted their signed lists of students on time so as not to delay the release of the subsidy, since the signed lists, which contain the names and number of students, were used in releasing the money.
He, however, suggested that the government could go ahead and release the subsidy for continuing students as schools took steps to get signed lists of their first-year students.
The government had been concerned about fees paid by students and in September 2001, it gave a directive that the level of fees to be charged should not exceed that of the previous level, even though approval was given for an increase in feeding fee from 23GHp to 30GHp per day.
The government, therefore, agreed to subsidise the difference between the old fees and that of the new fees with GH¢31.00 per student per annum.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Works begin on 198 classroom blocks
Page 11
Feb 8, 2008
CONSTRUCTION works have begun on 198 classroom blocks to serve schools which hold classes under trees in various parts of the country.
Under this project, 1,821 classroom blocks are to be built, but work is yet to begin on 1,623.
A document on Schools Under Trees Project made available to the Daily Graphic, indicated that 230 six-unit classrooms and 147 three-unit classrooms are to be built under the project, estimated at GH¢ 23,547,450,00.
The project is to be funded by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund). Each of the six-unit classroom blocks has a head teacher’s office, storeroom, library and staff common room while each of the three-unit classroom blocks has a storeroom.
Asked what might have led to the delay in the commencement of work on the 1,623 classrooms, the Director of Administration of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, Mr J.O. Afrani, said the GETFund could not pre-finance the project since it would be a breach of its financial obligations.
He said the contractors would have to be written to, “to pre-fianance the project and after that present their certificates for payment.“
Fourteen of the six-unit classroom blocks are to be built in the Greater Accra Region; 16 in the Volta Region; 38 in the Central Region; 22 in the Western Region; 19 in the Eastern Region; 28 in the Ashanti Region; 25 in the Northern Region; 23 in the Upper West Region; 17 in the Upper East Region and 28 in the Brong Ahafo Region.
As regards the three-unit classroom block, 13 are to be constructed in the Greater Accra Region, seven in the Volta Region, 29 in the Central Region, 18 in the Western Region, nine in the Eastern Region, 24 in the Ashanti Region, 10 in the Northern Region, nine in the Upper West Region, eight in the Upper East Region and 15 in the Brong Ahafo Region.
Feb 8, 2008
CONSTRUCTION works have begun on 198 classroom blocks to serve schools which hold classes under trees in various parts of the country.
Under this project, 1,821 classroom blocks are to be built, but work is yet to begin on 1,623.
A document on Schools Under Trees Project made available to the Daily Graphic, indicated that 230 six-unit classrooms and 147 three-unit classrooms are to be built under the project, estimated at GH¢ 23,547,450,00.
The project is to be funded by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund). Each of the six-unit classroom blocks has a head teacher’s office, storeroom, library and staff common room while each of the three-unit classroom blocks has a storeroom.
Asked what might have led to the delay in the commencement of work on the 1,623 classrooms, the Director of Administration of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, Mr J.O. Afrani, said the GETFund could not pre-finance the project since it would be a breach of its financial obligations.
He said the contractors would have to be written to, “to pre-fianance the project and after that present their certificates for payment.“
Fourteen of the six-unit classroom blocks are to be built in the Greater Accra Region; 16 in the Volta Region; 38 in the Central Region; 22 in the Western Region; 19 in the Eastern Region; 28 in the Ashanti Region; 25 in the Northern Region; 23 in the Upper West Region; 17 in the Upper East Region and 28 in the Brong Ahafo Region.
As regards the three-unit classroom block, 13 are to be constructed in the Greater Accra Region, seven in the Volta Region, 29 in the Central Region, 18 in the Western Region, nine in the Eastern Region, 24 in the Ashanti Region, 10 in the Northern Region, nine in the Upper West Region, eight in the Upper East Region and 15 in the Brong Ahafo Region.
Heads asked to submit names of qualified candidates
Page 11
Feb 9, 2008
THE Ghana Education Service (GES) has asked heads of senior high schools (SSS) with vacancies to forward the names of qualified Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates in their localities who have not been placed to the service for regularisation.
The Director-General of the GES, Mr Samuel Bannerman-Mensah, who made this known in an interview, said, “We have asked the heads of schools with vacancies to submit the names of those who have not been placed for us to regularise their admission.”
He said the decision to allow the heads to submit the names of those who had not been placed was taken about three weeks ago and that the move was to ensure that all those who qualified for placement and had not been placed got schools.
According to Mr Bannerman-Mensah, most candidates did not select schools in their localities, thereby making it difficult for them to get schools in their areas of residence.
Investigations by the Daily Graphic have revealed that most community schools have many vacancies as a result of the failure of BECE candidates to select schools in their communities.
Feb 9, 2008
THE Ghana Education Service (GES) has asked heads of senior high schools (SSS) with vacancies to forward the names of qualified Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates in their localities who have not been placed to the service for regularisation.
The Director-General of the GES, Mr Samuel Bannerman-Mensah, who made this known in an interview, said, “We have asked the heads of schools with vacancies to submit the names of those who have not been placed for us to regularise their admission.”
He said the decision to allow the heads to submit the names of those who had not been placed was taken about three weeks ago and that the move was to ensure that all those who qualified for placement and had not been placed got schools.
According to Mr Bannerman-Mensah, most candidates did not select schools in their localities, thereby making it difficult for them to get schools in their areas of residence.
Investigations by the Daily Graphic have revealed that most community schools have many vacancies as a result of the failure of BECE candidates to select schools in their communities.
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