He argued that Ghana’s quest to see positive changes in education will have a weak footing if the basic level, which is the foundation, is not given the needed attention in terms of roles played by basic school heads and teachers.

He made the observations at a forum he organized on Monday to interact with all heads of basic schools in the Central Region at the Regional Coordinating Council in Cape Coast, attended by all district educational directors and the twenty Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives in the region.

The meeting was in fulfillment of the Minister’s promise in late December 2017 to meet all stakeholders in public basic education to discuss the perennially low academic performances in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the Central Region.

It was also to strategize in order to ensure that children from the Region improve their performances and gain admission to the top Senior High Schools in the Region, a situation the Regional Minister lamented over last year.

“If you take the entire educational chain, the head of the basic school is the most critical link; if the kids have already been formed well at the basic school, chances are that they will do well at the secondary level, so the real thing is the basic school,” he noted

“In my view, the person who is in charge to ensure that the child is well formed, the child is well prepared to be pushed on to the senior level and then to the university, that person is critical”, he added.

The Regional Minister, who was himself a teacher from 1994 to January 2017, has vowed to use his tenure to revamp education in the Central Region – especially to improve performance among children from the Central Region at the basic level to ensure a positive progression to the higher levels.

Kwamena Duncan has thus warned the performance of heads of public basic schools in the Region will be vigorously monitored to bring about better results.

Many teachers at the forum expressed their appreciation for the programme, indicating, “the Minister has shown very positive signs of tackling basic education issues”, and promised their full support to the campaign.

An award was given to the head and teachers of the Efutu M.A. Basic School located in the Cape Coast Metropolis for their school placing first nationally in last year’s BECE.

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By: Joseph Akon Mensah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Basic school heads critical to education reform – C/R Minister appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He has lamented the trend is a threat to the human resource development of the Region because, in his words, “the root which will replace us is virtually dying out”.

The Minister has linked the trend to the low performance of Junior High School (JHS) students in the Region, a situation he believes has prevented most JHS leavers from meeting the admission requirements of the top schools that are mostly based in the Cape Coast area.

The Regional Minister expressed the worry yesterday at a media soiree held at the Central Regional Coordinating Council to elaborate on the successes and challenges in 2017 and the programmes for 2018.

Answering a question on the level of education in the Region noted for first-class senior high schools and tertiary institutions, he noted that though the region boasts of numerous educational facilities, the children in it are mostly far away from benefiting adequately from them.

“The statistics of our young people, whether they are getting to our schools or not – and the statistics are quite grim, grim statistics”, the Minister announced.

Citing examples to back his worries, Kwamena Duncan revealed, “2014/15, 2015/16 (academic years), for Holy Child School, not a single girl from all the public schools in the Region got admitted there, not one”.

He continued, “The story is not any different from Wesley Girls, from the Mfantsipims, from the Adisadels”.

He has therefore made a clarion call on all stakeholders in the Region to combine forces to ensure better academic performance at the basic levels of public schools in order to help get more children from the Region into the first class schools the Region boasts of.

As a measure to tackle the situation, the Regional Minister has announced that, as part of his overall strategy to improve education in Central Region, he will have a meeting of all Junior High School heads as well as leaders of Junior High School Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA) at the Regional Coordinating Council in 2018 to discuss basic education challenges in the Region.

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By: Joseph Ackon-Mensah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Top SHSs don’t admit enough public JHS students – C/R Minister appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He advised that it is only in achieving the developmental goals of the Akufu-Addo government that the party can assure itself of retaining power in the next general elections.

Mr Freddy Blay indicated that Ghanaians, including members of the New Patriotic Party, will greatly benefit  from the various job creation programmes initiated by the government.

The acting Chairman was speaking at the party’s Central Region Congress held at the Fosu College of Education on Saturday.

He acknowledged the massive contribution of the party’s branch in the Central Region in the 2016 general elections, that saw the NPP capture 16 parliamentary seats out of the twenty in the region.

“The national headquarters is very much thankful to the Central Region for your great fight, especially those of you Members of Parliament”, he said.

“I know many of you have some questions, but I plead with you to be patient, continue to work and sacrifice for the Akufu Addo government in parliament, and I assure you that you won’t be forgotten”, the Acting Chairman added.

On her part, the Minister for Special Government Initiatives, Mavis Hawa Koomson, stated that the various government initiatives to be rolled out soon will create jobs for people in the region.

The NPP had 53.2% of the presidential election votes cast in the Central Region in 2016, a leap from its 45.5% in 2012.

They also expressed joy about the capturing of the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) parliamentary seats in the Ekumfi and Twifo-Atimoakwa constituencies.

The Central Regional Chairman of the party, Robert Kutin, warned that, “We won’t encourage divisions within the region; we want the very unity we had in 2016 to continue so that we won’t be found wanting come 2020”.

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By: Joseph Ackon-Mensah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Be patient with gov’t – Freddy Blay to NPP members appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Regional Minister made the remark in a Citi News interview following the lynching of Captain Mahama, at Diaso in the Upper Denkyira West District on Monday.

[contextly_sidebar id=”6GcMCeowLv9C9dJXxUoqQDJ7FMKmsodI”]The residents reportedly lynched and burnt Captain Mahama because they thought he was an armed robber.

According to the District Chief Executive for the area, Daniel Appianing, some military personnel have held about 80 residents hostage, demanding for the gun of the deceased.

“I wish to use this opportunity to appeal to the military that this is purely a criminal matter, and the solution to this crime is not about the use of brute force. I’m told that some statement they released said they will not spare anybody. If you say you will not spare anyone who are you saying you are not going to spare? Is it the people in that town, district, anybody who comes on sight or the entire region? That is not the way to go,” the Central Regional Minister said.

Kwamena Duncan also called on the Ghana Armed Forces to use due process in the course of their investigations.

“It is a dastardly act, one that is unacceptable. But for A society which is governed by rules and laws, the best way to go about it is to apply the procedures, to investigate and pursue those who have committed this heinous crime and bring them to justice. The solution is not about going on rampage and attacking or brutalizing anybody that you see,” he added.

The Ghana Armed Forces had explained that Captain Mahama, a member of the 5th Infantry Battalion and his colleagues, were deployed to the town to curb illegal mining also known as galamsey.

The Ghana Armed Forces has also urged its troops to remain calm following the gruesome murder.

It said it was working to bring justice to the deceased and those affected by his murder.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

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