Page 11
July 31,2009
THE Ghana Education Service (GES) should amend its Capitation Grant guidelines to involve community participation in the development of school performance improvement plans, a report issued by a Forum on Community Participation in Education Management has recommended.
That, it said, “would strengthen community ownership of schools and their participation in education management”.
The report called for a regular capacity-building for school management committees (SMCs) and parent-teacher-association (PTA) to enable them to understand their roles in school management.
“The roles of the district education planning team should be evaluated in the light of the establishment of the community participation coordinators. The various units should be strengthened with the necessary budgetary allocation and institutional support to enable them to function effectively,” the report said.
Mrs Evelyn Arthur, Chief Party of GAIT II, who presented the report of the forum to the Minister of Education, Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, last Friday, said the report recommended for a budgetary allocation to be made for a regular training and refresher training for SMCs and PTAs.
The report, she said, underscored the need for the GES to make district directorates of education aware of the central role community participation activities played in improving education management, so that such activities would be budgeted for as part of the priority items under donor and government support.
“Teacher training curricula should include community participation. Teacher trainees should be well-tutored in practical ways of involving communities in education management,” the report said.
The forum, from which the report was developed, was held under the Government Accountability Improves Trust Programme (GAIT II), funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Responding to the report, Mr Tettey-Enyo said weaknesses in community participation in school management was a problem that needed to be addressed.
“Research has shown that community participation is weak,” he said, and stressed the need for it to be at the core of activities in education delivery.
A Deputy Minister of Education, Dr J.S. Annan, said community participation was critical in aspects of development, adding that civic education could help in strengthening community participation in school.
The Director General of the GES, Mr Samuel Bannerman-Mensah, said the service would study the report and come out appropriately.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Oil production to start next year -Tullow
TULLOW Ghana Limited, one of the companies involved in oil exploration in the country, has reaffirmed its commitment to start producing oil by the last quarter of next year.
It said it was working diligently and feverishly to produce first-class quality products.
The company is expected to produce 120,000 barrels of oil a day when it starts production.
The Vice-President of External Affairs and Corporate Social Responsibility of Tullow Ghana, Ms Rosalind Kainyah, made this known when she led a three-member delegation to pay a courtesy call on the Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited, Mr Ibraham Awal, in Accra yesterday.
The other members of the delegation wee Mr Kofi Esson, the Government and External Relations Manager, and Okyeame Ampadu-Agyei, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Manager.
Tullow Oil Plc is one of Europe’s leading independent exploration and production companies operating a balanced world-wide portfolio which stretches across Africa, Europe, South Asia and South America.
The company is a versatile and balanced group with a portfolio of quality oil and gas assets managed by a team with excellent technical, commercial and financial skills.
Its exploratory successes in the Jubilee and adjoining fields have made Ghana one of Tullow’s most important concessions.
Ms Kainyah said the company was committed to improving the lot of the people in its area of operation to ensure that they led better lives.
According to her, the company would not only provide employment opportunities for the people but also equip them and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with the requisite training.
She explained that oil revenue would be used for the benefit of the people and described the discovery of oil in the country as a blessing.
Ms Kainyah said the company would engage in sound environmental practices and indicated that its environmental impact assessment (EIA) would be made public next week by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Mr Awal urged Tullow Ghana to learn from the problems some oil exploration companies were facing in other countries to avoid confrontation with the local people.
He pledged the commitment of the GCGL to partner and work with the company and urged it to take advantage of the GCGL’s newspapers to do business in the country.
According to him, the GCGL had 85 per cent of the market share, of which Tullow could take advantage as it operated in the country, adding that it should not wait until there were problems.
He said G-Pak, a subsidiary of the GCGL, was also available for the printing of high quality labels
For his part, Mr Esson said the company was sponsoring 14 members of staff of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to pursue practical studies in various disciplines in oil and gas exploration and production, adding that 10 of them were into petroleum engineering.
Tullow has interests in two exploration licences offshore Ghana — Deepwater Tano and West Cape Three Points.
Both blocks lie in deep water and in 2007 two successful exploration wells located a substantial discovery which straddles the boundary between the two blocks, known as the Jubilee Field.
In 2008, an accelerated Jubilee appraisal and development programme commenced on the field. The first appraisal well, Mahogany-2, was drilled in May, followed by the Hyedua-2 and Mahogany-3 wells at the end of 2008.
The results from these wells indicated that Jubilee is a continuous stratigraphic trap with combined hydrocarbon columns in excess of 600 metres.
It said it was working diligently and feverishly to produce first-class quality products.
The company is expected to produce 120,000 barrels of oil a day when it starts production.
The Vice-President of External Affairs and Corporate Social Responsibility of Tullow Ghana, Ms Rosalind Kainyah, made this known when she led a three-member delegation to pay a courtesy call on the Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited, Mr Ibraham Awal, in Accra yesterday.
The other members of the delegation wee Mr Kofi Esson, the Government and External Relations Manager, and Okyeame Ampadu-Agyei, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Manager.
Tullow Oil Plc is one of Europe’s leading independent exploration and production companies operating a balanced world-wide portfolio which stretches across Africa, Europe, South Asia and South America.
The company is a versatile and balanced group with a portfolio of quality oil and gas assets managed by a team with excellent technical, commercial and financial skills.
Its exploratory successes in the Jubilee and adjoining fields have made Ghana one of Tullow’s most important concessions.
Ms Kainyah said the company was committed to improving the lot of the people in its area of operation to ensure that they led better lives.
According to her, the company would not only provide employment opportunities for the people but also equip them and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with the requisite training.
She explained that oil revenue would be used for the benefit of the people and described the discovery of oil in the country as a blessing.
Ms Kainyah said the company would engage in sound environmental practices and indicated that its environmental impact assessment (EIA) would be made public next week by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Mr Awal urged Tullow Ghana to learn from the problems some oil exploration companies were facing in other countries to avoid confrontation with the local people.
He pledged the commitment of the GCGL to partner and work with the company and urged it to take advantage of the GCGL’s newspapers to do business in the country.
According to him, the GCGL had 85 per cent of the market share, of which Tullow could take advantage as it operated in the country, adding that it should not wait until there were problems.
He said G-Pak, a subsidiary of the GCGL, was also available for the printing of high quality labels
For his part, Mr Esson said the company was sponsoring 14 members of staff of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to pursue practical studies in various disciplines in oil and gas exploration and production, adding that 10 of them were into petroleum engineering.
Tullow has interests in two exploration licences offshore Ghana — Deepwater Tano and West Cape Three Points.
Both blocks lie in deep water and in 2007 two successful exploration wells located a substantial discovery which straddles the boundary between the two blocks, known as the Jubilee Field.
In 2008, an accelerated Jubilee appraisal and development programme commenced on the field. The first appraisal well, Mahogany-2, was drilled in May, followed by the Hyedua-2 and Mahogany-3 wells at the end of 2008.
The results from these wells indicated that Jubilee is a continuous stratigraphic trap with combined hydrocarbon columns in excess of 600 metres.
950 Vodafone workers to go home
02-08-09
Page 3
NINE hundred and fifty workers of Vodafone Ghana Limited are to go home on compulsory redundancy by the end of November this year.
According to the company, the exercise would be done in a fair and transparent manner, and in line with the terms negotiated in the collective bargaining agreement and other conditions of service, which required the payment of three months basic salary for each year of service for staff affected by compulsory redundancy.
“We expect up to 950 employees to leave under compulsory redundancy by the end of November 2009. A new organisation structure will come into place by December 1, 2009,” the Chief Manager, Corporate Communications of Vodafone Ghana, Mr Isaac Abraham, said at a press conference in Accra yesterday.
He said clear exit procedures would be followed and all affected employees would be given a three-month notice before exit.
He said as was done in the last two voluntary exit programmes, the company would offer full transition support for affected staff in the form of entrepreneurial training, investment advice, counselling and preparation for life after Vodafone Ghana.
Mr Abraham said the company had notified the Labour Office, the senior staff association and the Communications Workers Union that Vodafone Ghana was being restructured to deliver enhanced value for customers and ensure commercial success in a competitive market.
“We have offered two voluntary exit programmes this year. The second one, at the request of the union, was restricted to non-unionised employees. We, however, received a number of requests for voluntary redundancy from colleagues who belong to the union and we have now accepted all these,” he said.
He said the company would continue to consider voluntary applications on a case-by-case basis, since it was critical to give everyone a personal choice during the time of change.
Mr Abraham said last year, the company reported a loss of GH¢264 million, adding, “We urgently need to turn Vodafone Ghana into a strong and successful business for the benefit of our customers and our employees.”
The business model of the company, he said, needed to be sustainable in the long term, delivering better service to customers through more efficient process and significantly reduced complexity.
He said the company would become successful by focusing on its core business and by automating its processes to reduce duplication and build efficiency, adding that it had recently created jobs in the wider community through direct sales agents.
Mr Abraham said the company had more than 7,000 sales agents, and that 1,200 more were to be added as commissioned sale agents.
Vodafone took over Ghana Telecom about a year ago under the purchase agreement that gave the company 70 per cent ownership of Ghana Telecom.
Page 3
NINE hundred and fifty workers of Vodafone Ghana Limited are to go home on compulsory redundancy by the end of November this year.
According to the company, the exercise would be done in a fair and transparent manner, and in line with the terms negotiated in the collective bargaining agreement and other conditions of service, which required the payment of three months basic salary for each year of service for staff affected by compulsory redundancy.
“We expect up to 950 employees to leave under compulsory redundancy by the end of November 2009. A new organisation structure will come into place by December 1, 2009,” the Chief Manager, Corporate Communications of Vodafone Ghana, Mr Isaac Abraham, said at a press conference in Accra yesterday.
He said clear exit procedures would be followed and all affected employees would be given a three-month notice before exit.
He said as was done in the last two voluntary exit programmes, the company would offer full transition support for affected staff in the form of entrepreneurial training, investment advice, counselling and preparation for life after Vodafone Ghana.
Mr Abraham said the company had notified the Labour Office, the senior staff association and the Communications Workers Union that Vodafone Ghana was being restructured to deliver enhanced value for customers and ensure commercial success in a competitive market.
“We have offered two voluntary exit programmes this year. The second one, at the request of the union, was restricted to non-unionised employees. We, however, received a number of requests for voluntary redundancy from colleagues who belong to the union and we have now accepted all these,” he said.
He said the company would continue to consider voluntary applications on a case-by-case basis, since it was critical to give everyone a personal choice during the time of change.
Mr Abraham said last year, the company reported a loss of GH¢264 million, adding, “We urgently need to turn Vodafone Ghana into a strong and successful business for the benefit of our customers and our employees.”
The business model of the company, he said, needed to be sustainable in the long term, delivering better service to customers through more efficient process and significantly reduced complexity.
He said the company would become successful by focusing on its core business and by automating its processes to reduce duplication and build efficiency, adding that it had recently created jobs in the wider community through direct sales agents.
Mr Abraham said the company had more than 7,000 sales agents, and that 1,200 more were to be added as commissioned sale agents.
Vodafone took over Ghana Telecom about a year ago under the purchase agreement that gave the company 70 per cent ownership of Ghana Telecom.
GNAT takes delivery of cars for teachers
03-08-09
Page 11
THE Teachers Fund, owned and operated by the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has taken delivery of 50 vehicles for onward supply to members.
The vehicles is part of a consignment of 150 vehicles the fund is expecting to present to its members this year.
At a ceremony to present the first batch of vehicles, the Chairman of the fund, Mr Samuel Ofori-Adjei, said the presentation which was the second, fell under the Teachers Fund Vehicle Loan Scheme.
In 2006, he said, the fund gave out 36 vehicles to members.
The Teachers Fund was set up 11 years ago to encourage teachers to save towards their retirement and also to provide lifestyle enhancing facilities to its members. The facilities include personal, investment and habitat.
Mr Ofori-Adjei said the objectives of the scheme were to offer members of the fund the opportunity to acquire their own vehicles to enhance their productivity at work.
In addition, he said, the fund was to offer the younger generation the opportunity to own cars that befitted their social status and also matched that of their peers in other sectors of the economy.
Loan amounts of GHC 6,500, he said, “are available under the facility to be paid over a period of three to seven years”, adding that “beneficiaries are expected to put up some deposits in situations were the vehicle price exceed the maximum loan amount”.
Mr Ofori-Adjei said applicants “must be GNAT members only, members of the fund for not less than three years, must have contributed a minimum of GHC 20 for a minimum of 12 months, must be capable of supporting the monthly repayments through the Controller and Accountant General’s payroll system and must be able to fully pay off the loan before retirement”.
“I would like to urge teachers to join GNAT, register with the fund and also increase their contribution to enjoy all that the fund has to offer,” he said, and indicated that the fund would continue to purchase new and home used vehicles for teachers under the scheme.
Page 11
THE Teachers Fund, owned and operated by the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has taken delivery of 50 vehicles for onward supply to members.
The vehicles is part of a consignment of 150 vehicles the fund is expecting to present to its members this year.
At a ceremony to present the first batch of vehicles, the Chairman of the fund, Mr Samuel Ofori-Adjei, said the presentation which was the second, fell under the Teachers Fund Vehicle Loan Scheme.
In 2006, he said, the fund gave out 36 vehicles to members.
The Teachers Fund was set up 11 years ago to encourage teachers to save towards their retirement and also to provide lifestyle enhancing facilities to its members. The facilities include personal, investment and habitat.
Mr Ofori-Adjei said the objectives of the scheme were to offer members of the fund the opportunity to acquire their own vehicles to enhance their productivity at work.
In addition, he said, the fund was to offer the younger generation the opportunity to own cars that befitted their social status and also matched that of their peers in other sectors of the economy.
Loan amounts of GHC 6,500, he said, “are available under the facility to be paid over a period of three to seven years”, adding that “beneficiaries are expected to put up some deposits in situations were the vehicle price exceed the maximum loan amount”.
Mr Ofori-Adjei said applicants “must be GNAT members only, members of the fund for not less than three years, must have contributed a minimum of GHC 20 for a minimum of 12 months, must be capable of supporting the monthly repayments through the Controller and Accountant General’s payroll system and must be able to fully pay off the loan before retirement”.
“I would like to urge teachers to join GNAT, register with the fund and also increase their contribution to enjoy all that the fund has to offer,” he said, and indicated that the fund would continue to purchase new and home used vehicles for teachers under the scheme.
Call on retired teachers to register with NVP
August 3, 2009
Page 38
THE Director of the National Service Scheme (NSS), Mr Vincent Kuagbenu, has called on retired teachers to register with the National Volunteer Programme (NVP) to be engaged to fill the vacancies in the classrooms.
That, he said, was in view of the fact that, according to the Education Sector Report, 17 per cent of teachers abandoned the classrooms for other vocations between 2004 and 2008.
Mr Kuagbenu made this known at a stakeholders’ forum on senior high school graduates in Accra.
He said the NSS was prepared to fill the vacancies in the classrooms once people made themselves available for the NVP and national service.
According to him, about 60 per cent of the about 30,000 people who took part in national service in the 2008/2009 service year were sent to the rural areas to assist in teaching, among other things.
Mr Kuagbenu said the government was saddled with the huge responsibility of addressing problems at all levels of the country’s educational system and charged parents, corporate bodies and non-governmental organisations to give support in that direction.
He expressed concern over anti-social behaviour among some SHS graduates who could not continue with their education and stressed the need for all to assist in addressing those problems.
The Bishop of the Full Gospel Church International, Rt Rev Samuel Noye Mensah, called for the establishment of a national youth scheme for SHS graduates.
“A scheme that will give these students the opportunity to serve their country while learning and on transit to the tertiary level,” he said, adding that the scheme “could also be a module integrated into the National Youth Employment Programme”.
He said the country had reached a stage where it had to regularise the recruitment of SHS students into job openings that could occupy them.
Rt Rev Mensah urged the various stakeholders to engage the services of SHS graduates in places such as the district assemblies, industries and agriculture.
The Ga Mantse, King Tackie Tawiah III, who chaired the function, said the youth should not limit their social horizons to living in urban centres, as their success could lie in the rural areas.
He charged the youth to prepare themselves adequately for the challenges by capitalising on existing opportunities to succeed in life.
The Chief Executive Officer of Schoolmate Investments, organisers of the forum, said the project was to empower the youth, especially SHS graduates, to take active part in national development.
Page 38
THE Director of the National Service Scheme (NSS), Mr Vincent Kuagbenu, has called on retired teachers to register with the National Volunteer Programme (NVP) to be engaged to fill the vacancies in the classrooms.
That, he said, was in view of the fact that, according to the Education Sector Report, 17 per cent of teachers abandoned the classrooms for other vocations between 2004 and 2008.
Mr Kuagbenu made this known at a stakeholders’ forum on senior high school graduates in Accra.
He said the NSS was prepared to fill the vacancies in the classrooms once people made themselves available for the NVP and national service.
According to him, about 60 per cent of the about 30,000 people who took part in national service in the 2008/2009 service year were sent to the rural areas to assist in teaching, among other things.
Mr Kuagbenu said the government was saddled with the huge responsibility of addressing problems at all levels of the country’s educational system and charged parents, corporate bodies and non-governmental organisations to give support in that direction.
He expressed concern over anti-social behaviour among some SHS graduates who could not continue with their education and stressed the need for all to assist in addressing those problems.
The Bishop of the Full Gospel Church International, Rt Rev Samuel Noye Mensah, called for the establishment of a national youth scheme for SHS graduates.
“A scheme that will give these students the opportunity to serve their country while learning and on transit to the tertiary level,” he said, adding that the scheme “could also be a module integrated into the National Youth Employment Programme”.
He said the country had reached a stage where it had to regularise the recruitment of SHS students into job openings that could occupy them.
Rt Rev Mensah urged the various stakeholders to engage the services of SHS graduates in places such as the district assemblies, industries and agriculture.
The Ga Mantse, King Tackie Tawiah III, who chaired the function, said the youth should not limit their social horizons to living in urban centres, as their success could lie in the rural areas.
He charged the youth to prepare themselves adequately for the challenges by capitalising on existing opportunities to succeed in life.
The Chief Executive Officer of Schoolmate Investments, organisers of the forum, said the project was to empower the youth, especially SHS graduates, to take active part in national development.
240,000 Barrels of oil a day -Production to begin in 2013
August 3, 2009
Front Page
THE country will produce 240,000 barrels of oil and 240,000 million standard cubic feet of gas per day under the second phase of the Jubilee Field project which is expected to commence in 2013, the Deputy Minister of Energy, Dr Kwabena Donkor, has disclosed.
According to him, “the appraisals so far conducted indicate that the Jubilee Field contains expected recoverable reserves of about 800 million barrels of light crude, with an upside potential of about three billion barrels”.
Dr Donkor, who made this known when he opened a two-day seminar on oil and gas for youth activists in Accra last Saturday, said there were greater prospects for the discovery of more oil.
The event, which was on the theme, “Oil and Gas Exploration in Ghana: Opportunities and Threats for the Youth”, was organised by the Youth Network for Human Rights and Democracy and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES).
Dr Donkor said under Phase One of the Jubilee Field project, 120,000 barrels of oil and 120,000 million standard cubic feet of dry gas per day would be produced next year.
He said the discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities provided the country an immense opportunity to effectively improve its economy, for which reason all sectors of the economy were positioning themselves for the take-off into the new economic horizon created by the oil and gas discoveries.
“There are many who are sceptical and are asking whether the oil and gas find will be a curse for Ghana, as it has been the case in some African countries. Whether the oil and gas discoveries will be a curse or a blessing will depend on the collective will of the people of Ghana,” he said.
Dr Donkor said with the discoveries, a number of opportunities were knocking at the doors of the youth at the various stages of the oil and gas industry in the upstream, midstream and downstream activities.
These, he said, were drilling services, production maintenance service, geological services, engineering, fabrication and construction.
In addition, he said, opportunities existed in sectors such as insurance, food and beverages, transportation, health and safety, banking and financial services, as well as seismic.
He said it was, therefore, up to the youth to take advantage of the opportunities and urged educational institutions to position themselves by introducing programmes that had relevance to the market being created by the oil and gas find.
He said as a result of the oil threats, the government, on coming into office, withdrew the Petroleum Bill from Parliament for further review and broader stockholder participation before re-submission to Parliament.
“Though the production horizon of the oil in the Jubilee Field may be short (20 years), the ministry is leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that the necessary legislation and institutions are put in place to ensure that the benefits of the oil find in our time will also extend to those yet unborn,” Dr Donkor emphasised.
The Executive Director of the Youth Network for Human Rights and Democracy, Mr Prosper Hoetu, said the organisation was a youth-oriented one committed to building the capacities of young people for good governance, peace building and conflict prevention towards consolidating democracy in the country.
He said the country’s discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities came as good news in the midst of its socio-economic challenges, saying that when they were managed properly, oil and gas could be a major source of socio-economic transformation.
The Programmes Co-ordinator of the FES, Mr Danaa Nantogmah, said while oil discovery had been regarded as a blessing, in Africa “it is often associated with the resource curse phenomenon”.
The objective of the seminar, he said, was to provide basic knowledge and understanding of the emerging oil and gas industry.
Mr Nantogmah expressed the hope that the seminar would provide a platform for youth leaders and activists to devise strategies to effectively engage the government and other stakeholders in developing and implementing a national oil and gas policy that would safeguard the environment and prevent political corruption and violent conflict.
Front Page
THE country will produce 240,000 barrels of oil and 240,000 million standard cubic feet of gas per day under the second phase of the Jubilee Field project which is expected to commence in 2013, the Deputy Minister of Energy, Dr Kwabena Donkor, has disclosed.
According to him, “the appraisals so far conducted indicate that the Jubilee Field contains expected recoverable reserves of about 800 million barrels of light crude, with an upside potential of about three billion barrels”.
Dr Donkor, who made this known when he opened a two-day seminar on oil and gas for youth activists in Accra last Saturday, said there were greater prospects for the discovery of more oil.
The event, which was on the theme, “Oil and Gas Exploration in Ghana: Opportunities and Threats for the Youth”, was organised by the Youth Network for Human Rights and Democracy and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES).
Dr Donkor said under Phase One of the Jubilee Field project, 120,000 barrels of oil and 120,000 million standard cubic feet of dry gas per day would be produced next year.
He said the discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities provided the country an immense opportunity to effectively improve its economy, for which reason all sectors of the economy were positioning themselves for the take-off into the new economic horizon created by the oil and gas discoveries.
“There are many who are sceptical and are asking whether the oil and gas find will be a curse for Ghana, as it has been the case in some African countries. Whether the oil and gas discoveries will be a curse or a blessing will depend on the collective will of the people of Ghana,” he said.
Dr Donkor said with the discoveries, a number of opportunities were knocking at the doors of the youth at the various stages of the oil and gas industry in the upstream, midstream and downstream activities.
These, he said, were drilling services, production maintenance service, geological services, engineering, fabrication and construction.
In addition, he said, opportunities existed in sectors such as insurance, food and beverages, transportation, health and safety, banking and financial services, as well as seismic.
He said it was, therefore, up to the youth to take advantage of the opportunities and urged educational institutions to position themselves by introducing programmes that had relevance to the market being created by the oil and gas find.
He said as a result of the oil threats, the government, on coming into office, withdrew the Petroleum Bill from Parliament for further review and broader stockholder participation before re-submission to Parliament.
“Though the production horizon of the oil in the Jubilee Field may be short (20 years), the ministry is leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that the necessary legislation and institutions are put in place to ensure that the benefits of the oil find in our time will also extend to those yet unborn,” Dr Donkor emphasised.
The Executive Director of the Youth Network for Human Rights and Democracy, Mr Prosper Hoetu, said the organisation was a youth-oriented one committed to building the capacities of young people for good governance, peace building and conflict prevention towards consolidating democracy in the country.
He said the country’s discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities came as good news in the midst of its socio-economic challenges, saying that when they were managed properly, oil and gas could be a major source of socio-economic transformation.
The Programmes Co-ordinator of the FES, Mr Danaa Nantogmah, said while oil discovery had been regarded as a blessing, in Africa “it is often associated with the resource curse phenomenon”.
The objective of the seminar, he said, was to provide basic knowledge and understanding of the emerging oil and gas industry.
Mr Nantogmah expressed the hope that the seminar would provide a platform for youth leaders and activists to devise strategies to effectively engage the government and other stakeholders in developing and implementing a national oil and gas policy that would safeguard the environment and prevent political corruption and violent conflict.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
SHS BACK TO THREE YEARS -Effective Next Academic year
August 4, 2009
Front Page Lead
THE government has decided to change the duration of the senior high school (SHS) from four to three years, effective this academic year.
The decision follows Cabinet’s approval of the three-year SHS system.
The Minister of Education, Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic yesterday, however, said the current SHS One and Two students who began the four-year programme would be made to complete the four-year programme.
He said Cabinet had directed the Ministry of Education to work on the transition from four years back to three years, adding that the government would seek amendments to the act that made SHS education four years.
“We are working on the transition from three to four years which will be ready any time this week,” he said, adding that the current decision was one of the recommendations of the Anamuah-Mensah Committee.
He dismissed the argument that the future of children was being toyed with and indicated that the lack of infrastructure to cater for the four-year system, cost on parents, among other things, were some of the factors considered.
The four-year SHS educational system introduced by the immediate past government took off on September 11, 2007. Under the system, the names of first and second-cycle schools were changed from the then junior secondary school (JSS) and senior secondary school (SSS) to junior high school (JHS) and SHS, respectively.
Mr Tettey-Enyo said the arguments raised at the national education forum held on May 27 and 28, 2009 to discuss the duration of the SHS programme were studied as part of the decision to change the system.
He said the government would not relent in its efforts at providing the necessary infrastructure and textbooks and motivating teachers to bring about an improvement in the educational system.
He said there was the need to strengthen the JHS as part of efforts to address the problems that were faced at the SHS level.
“If we strengthen the JHS system, most of the problems at the SHS level will be solved,” he emphasised.
Front Page Lead
THE government has decided to change the duration of the senior high school (SHS) from four to three years, effective this academic year.
The decision follows Cabinet’s approval of the three-year SHS system.
The Minister of Education, Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic yesterday, however, said the current SHS One and Two students who began the four-year programme would be made to complete the four-year programme.
He said Cabinet had directed the Ministry of Education to work on the transition from four years back to three years, adding that the government would seek amendments to the act that made SHS education four years.
“We are working on the transition from three to four years which will be ready any time this week,” he said, adding that the current decision was one of the recommendations of the Anamuah-Mensah Committee.
He dismissed the argument that the future of children was being toyed with and indicated that the lack of infrastructure to cater for the four-year system, cost on parents, among other things, were some of the factors considered.
The four-year SHS educational system introduced by the immediate past government took off on September 11, 2007. Under the system, the names of first and second-cycle schools were changed from the then junior secondary school (JSS) and senior secondary school (SSS) to junior high school (JHS) and SHS, respectively.
Mr Tettey-Enyo said the arguments raised at the national education forum held on May 27 and 28, 2009 to discuss the duration of the SHS programme were studied as part of the decision to change the system.
He said the government would not relent in its efforts at providing the necessary infrastructure and textbooks and motivating teachers to bring about an improvement in the educational system.
He said there was the need to strengthen the JHS as part of efforts to address the problems that were faced at the SHS level.
“If we strengthen the JHS system, most of the problems at the SHS level will be solved,” he emphasised.
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