“As I am speaking now, a Bill is ready to be laid before Parliament when parliament resumes next week,” he said to Citi News.

[contextly_sidebar id=”cx6ERWlCBdIf9hZu2GPruTQa5Ut7ipAK”]”It is only a matter of time that Parliament will come in and then pass the Bill into law. So that not only will Tamale and Cape Coast be technical universities just by executive fiat or instrument, but also by law. So it is a matter of time” he noted.

“Before any university comes into being, it has to be backed by law. The government first upgraded the six polytechnics into technical universities. Cape Coast and Tamale were not part of it. But the institutions do not come into being until an act of Parliament passes them.”

The Cape Coast and Tamale Polytechnics initially did not meet the 16 point criteria laid down for qualification for conversion, which assessed the varying levels of infrastructure and capacity.

After missing out, the two institutions complained to government and accused it of masterminding to get them out of the conversion.

Prof. Yankah acknowledged their complaints saying, “from a distance, you will appreciate their concerns. It will sound as if,  yes we were all made polytechnics but it looks like you are demoting us, you are taking us back to a place we were long ago.”

–

By: Ann-Shirley Ziwu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The General Secretary of the Association, Mr David Worwui-Brown, who addressed a press conference organized by the Association the 33^rd Annual Congress at the Koforidua Technical University, said there are many options available for the Association and they would follow due process.

He said the actions of government are a clear demonstration of lack of interest in technical education.

The General Secretary said whiles the Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh promised in April that the Governing Councils of all the Technical Universities would be inaugurated by the end of June this year, as at August not even one has been inaugurated for any of the Technical Universities.

The Association said the government has established Governing Councils for some public universities in the country.

Mr Worwui-Brown said information available to the Association indicates that the list for

the Governing  Councils of the various Technical Universities are ready and what is left is for the government to add his four nominees to each of the lists submitted for the establishment of the councils.

The General Secretary of the Association said the unavailability of Governing Councils for the Technical Universities is hindering the ability of the universities to graduate students or admit fresh students and determine the fees to be paid by students.

He said without such councils, the Technical Universities cannot promote lecturers who are due for promotion or recruit new lecturers to replace those that have retired.

The Association called on the government to also conclude the process of converting the remaining Polytechnics into Technical Universities and these are the Bolgatanga and Wa Polytechnics.

–

Source: GNA

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President Akufo-Addo said, “if the ambitions we have for this country are going to come to fruition, a great deal of it depends on what is going to happen in places like this. You are going to be at the centre of the industrial revolution of our country. That revolution needs to happen now if Ghana is going to make progress.”

The President noted that “all those countries in the world that used to be like us, but are now places of prosperity and development, became so because they paid a great deal of attention and committed a lot of resources to the development of their educational system, especially the development of their technical and scientific education.”

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Sunday, 14th May, 2017, when he addressed students of the Ho Technical University at the climax of his 2-day visit to the Volta Region.

The President stressed that if Ghana is to emulate the successes of the Asian tigers, especially countries who gained their independence at the same time as Ghana, then technical institutions must have priority in the country’s educational expenditure.

It is for this reason, he said, that the process of reorganizing and re-prioritizing the country’s educational expenditure is on-going, evident in the 2017 Asempa Budget ensuring a substantial increase in the budgetary allocation to the educational sector.

Technical education, the President indicated “is the key to our future. Whatever we can do to support your development, to make it relatively easy for you to study hard and to get the information to be able to contribute to the progress and development of the country, the Akufo-Addo administration is going to do exactly that.”

President Akufo-Addo continued, “We cannot continue to be raw material producing and exporting countries, depending on the production of unprocessed cocoa or unprocessed gold. There is no future in that for us as a people. We will continue to be poor if we go down that line. We must make a systematic effort to change the structure of our economy. We cannot do it unless we have people like you primed and ready to assist the process of transformation.”

–

By: Sammi Wiafe/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to the minister, “Technical Universities will be at the forefront in providing the technical workforce…from the project planning stage through implementation”.

In a speech read on his behalf at the graduation of some 2900 students at the Takoradi Technical University over the weekend in the Western Region, Dr. Prempeh stated that “each university will be supported by government to at least train craftsmen, technicians and technologists needed to man factories in the regions in which they are located. The collaboration between the technical universities and the factories will begin at the project planning and implementation stages. This will make the relationship between the TTUs and the new factories inseparable”.

[contextly_sidebar id=”9E2XAT5NTJIM6hoW13vQF8KvaCfJPZDO”]He added that “factories will seek technical advice from technical universities and students will use these factories for practical training.”

In his view,  all the Technical Universities must desist from offering same programmes across board.
He opined that “we must not allow all the technical universities to do same programmes without specialization. Each university must have a unique programme of specialization that differentiates it from others”.

He assured of a retooling exercise that will ensure that “your products are not only equipped with all the skills needed to build the national economy, but also are able and motivated to take on the challenge and opportunities for higher achievement in the science and technology-led knowledge-driven global economy through innovation and creativity.”

–

By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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A source at the ministry revealed that the minister, a few days after taking over from his predecessor Elvis Afriyie- Ankrah, took top-notch Islamic clerics to his office to fortify the place.

The move, according to the source, was to seek divine help against evil machinations so that what befell his predecessors would not happen to him.

It is the most talked about Ministry, and has seen Ministers come and go through the revolving door.

Some of the past Ministers even lasted only 30 days in office after appointment, an indication of how hot the seat is.

The immediate-past Minister Afriyie-Ankrah lost his position while on international assignment in faraway Brazil during the 2014 World Cup.

One young Minister who showed promise but didn’t last long on the hot seat was Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka. What led to his departure, stoking controversy, is still fresh in the minds of Ghanaians.

Mallam Issah, who served under the Kufuor administration, is in the Ministry’s history books as the shortest-serving Minister.

But one name stands tall among the 22 Ministers that served at the ministry is Enoch Teye Mensah, for his long reign (1993-2001), although he did not qualify the country to the World stage – a feat Yaw Osafo Marfo could boast of as the first Minister to have achieved.

Later, Akua Sena Dansua and Afriyie-Ankrah replicated the feat in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups respectively.

Hon Ayariga assumed office not long ago but he has also demonstrated promise to succeed at the Ministry which has become a banana peel for most government officials.

A few weeks into his reign, he called for a 60-man football retreat, inspected projects and sports facilities, all in pursuance of a successful reign.

–

Source: Daily Guide

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This will be in response to FIFA’s letter to the GFA inquiring about the Commission of Inquiry set up to investigate Ghana’s poor showing at the 2014 World Cup.

Speaking to Citi News,  Mr Ayariga confirmed that the Ministry has had discussions with the GFA about the implications of the letter from FIFA.

According to him, “the GFA has requested for a week of internal deliberation and will get back to government on the matter next week.”

Mr. Ayariga added that they would reconvene next week when they receive a response from the Ghana Football Association on the government’s request for a joint reply to FIFA.

The Communications Director at the GFA, Ibrahim Sanni Daara, had earlier confirmed to Citi News that the Association had been asked by FIFA to verify media reports they had received that a commission had indeed been set up by the government.

The world football governing body had also asked to be briefed on the powers and function of the commission and did not want to rely on media reports before making any decision.

FIFA is known to resent government interference in football associations.

Ghana would be hoping to avoid a ban from FIFA who have previously suspended several countries who have breached this code.

Nigeria was recently banned from international football for government interference, although the ban has since been lifted.

By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The committee who were mandated by the Sports Ministry to draw up a  framework for developing football in the country at a recent forum held by the Ministry say this project will ensure that the vast array of talent in various sections of the country will be properly nurtured.

Entrepreneur and philanthropist, Dr Kofi Amoah, who was a member of the committee, says the nation should look to invest in these structures due to the role the sport plays in projecting the image of the nation to the international community.

“We believe that football plays a significant role in creating unity for us and using football to brand ourselves on the international stage then it become something in which the benefits outweigh the cost.

So we have done our best thinking we are all aware of the financial duties we are experiencing right now we are not saying that everything must be done today but we are putting it forward,” he said.

He says an abundance of untapped talent exists in the rural areas and other remote places that needs to be harnessed.

“In growing Ghana football the talent of soccer is all over the country.

in the rural areas and in the villages and therefore if we have facilities where these young people who possess this talent can showcase then we can begin to unearth them and train them better,”he told Citi Sports.

These recommendations have become necessary due Ghana’s poor performance at the World Cup in Brazil which saw them exit in the first round after finishing bottom of their Group with just a point from three games.

By: Benjamin Nketsia/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The two day retreat will seek to find answers to various questions about the future of the sport, that have arisen as a result of the poor performance put up by the senior national soccer team, the Black Stars, at the World Cup.

Reports of various acts of indiscipline plagued the teams camp, which climaxed with the indefinite suspension of senior players Kevin Prince Boateng and Sulley Muntari for separate offenses.

The Black Stars threatened to boycott their final group game against Portugal unless their appearance fees had been paid to them in cash, a situation which resulted in the air lifting of 3 million dollars from Ghana, a move that many in the sports fraternity have criticized.

The sports administrators invited are made up of individuals who have acquired knowledge and experience on issues on the field of play as well as football management and administration in Ghana and abroad.

This, the Ministry stated, is the first in the series of engagements that will take place between various stakeholders in sporting disciplines in the country and those involved in youth development to help drive the sector.

Below is a full list of participants invited by the Sports Ministry.

List of Participants

Ato Ahwoi, Nana Sam Brew Butler, M.N.D. Jawula, Ade Coker, Welbeck Abra Appiah, Joe Aggrey, Prof. Joshua Alabi, Alhaji Aliu Raji, J.Y. Appiah, Commodore Mensah, Harry Zakour, Alhaji Said Sinare, Abbey Pobee, Mr. Joe Kpenge, Dr. K.K. Sarpong, Oheneba Charles, Kwabena Yeboah, Christian Abbew, George Amoako, Sir Sam Jonah, Karl Tuffour, Ackah Anthony, Awuah Nyamekye, Randy Abbey, Kwame Baah-Nuakoh, Ben Kwofie, Jones Abu Allassan, Ex-Referee L.O. Laryea, Owuahene Acheampong, C.K. Akonnor, Abedi Ayew Pele, Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe, Odotei Sowah, Tony Yeboah, Mike Mensah Bonsu, Alhaji Grusah, Ibrahim Sunday, Rev. Osei Kofi, Sam Arday, Stephen Appiah, Kurt Okraku, Mr. Rex Danquah, Prof. Kofi Kumado, Antwi Gyamfi, Maj. Yaw Larson, Hon. Osafo Marfo, Hon. Papa Owusu Ankomah, Hon Rashid Pelpuo, Hon. E. T. Mensah, Hon. Akua Sena Dansoa, Hon. Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, Hon. Clement Humado, Hon. Rashid Bawa, Hon. Mohammed M. Mubarak, Hon. Dominic Fobih, Hon. Amarkai Amarteifio

By: Benjamin Nketsia/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Sports journalists in Ghana have been urged to pay attention to other sports on their media. 

Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports, Joseph Yammin who made the call also called for the promotion of the Ghanaian soccer leagues.

He believes the media attention given to foreign soccer at the expense of local content is to blame for the dwindling fortunes of sports in Ghana.

The Deputy Minister who was speaking at the launch of sports news portal, Allsports, in Accra urged Ghanaian sports journalists to explore the numerous opportunities presented by the fast growing subsector.

“Sports have come to stay with us and virtually taken our private and public lives. This therefore makes Sports Journalism a huge industry in the media sub-sector – hence the need for the exploration of all media platforms for the promotion of Sports. ”

Joseph Yammin, also wants sports editors to endeavour to put in place measures to reduce insults and hate speeches due to the passion attached to sports by Ghanaians.

The event was also attended by sports personalities including former Black Stars defender Samuel Johnson and former Ethiopian coach Sewnet Bishaw.

Source: Raw Gist

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