In a press statement signed by the President of the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs, Kuoro Richead Babini Kanto IV, and read by Naa Seidu Braimah, the chief said “the realignment is a ploy to weaken the Wa campus to make it difficult for it to run smoothly when given autonomy”.

[contextly_sidebar id=”zegQ5SWyei6BwcIXEyBs6eCZQlLdOMiR”]Section 3 of PNDC Law 279 (1992) on functions of the University states that the University for Development Studies (UDS), shall pursue as its aims under section 2, studies in Agricultural Science, Medical and Health Sciences and Integrated Development Studies.”

The aspects of Integrated Development Studies have been ceded to the Wa campus of the University.

However, the statement contained that “the faculty of Social Sciences, the faculty of Arts (proposed under a collegiate system by the Wa cumpus), as well as all proposed and existing programmes of the department of African and General Studies, Wa campus are now proposed for the Tamale campus” while “the department of Environment and Resource Studies at the Wa campus is placed under the faculty of Earth and Environmental Science at the Navrongo campus in the Upper East Region”.

The chiefs further claimed that “the M.A Leadership and Development programme of the school of Business and Law, Wa campus, is to be moved to the Institute of Interdisciplinary Research and Consultancy Services in Tamale”.

Kuoro Richead Babini, who is the Paramount Chief of the Tumu Traditional Area wondered why no programme is moved to the Wa campus of the University under the supposed realignment process, demanding that ” current happenings at the university fly in the face of the law and must be halted by government to avert future litigation”.

Citi News‘ attempts to get a response from the authorities of the UDS were unsuccessful.

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By:Mahama Latif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post U/West: Chiefs angry over proposed realignment of UDS programmes  appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, every issue was seen in the lenses of either the National Democratic Congress (NDC) or the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and oftentimes, the real substance of important issues was sacrificed on the altar of politics.

Prof. Teye was speaking at the annual Harmattan School of the UDS organised by the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research  and Consultancy Services (IIRaCS),  a research wing of the UDS,  on the theme: “Depoliticising Education for National Development: The Role of Academia, Civil Society Organisations and Development Partners” in Tamale last Wednesday.

The Harmattan School

The Harmattan School is one of the many platforms created by the UDS and opened to researchers, civil society organisations, policy makers and non-governmental organisation (NGOs) to congregate and brainstorm on development issues confronting northern Ghana, in particular, and the country as a whole.

It is also for academic peer review purposes and serves as an avenue for the discovery of practical solutions to address the developmental challenges of the nation and, particularly, northern Ghana.

Politicisation of issues on education

Prof. Teye in his address cited the change in the duration of the second cycle education from three to four years and back to three years to buttress his point, saying that was done simply because the baton of governance changed hands.

He also cited the implementation of the free Senior High School (SHS) policy to further buttress his point as to how issues regarding education were politicised, saying the debate on the free SHS had heightened not on how to surmount the challenges confronting the implementation, but largely on whether it should be free or progressively free.

Prof. Teye, therefore, urged the opposition to criticise objectively in the bigger interest of Ghana and urged the government to remain focused but humbly accept the views of others if those views would be in the superior interest of the country.

Turning to the media, he said the media had the opportunity of setting the tone for a national debate but oftentimes agreed to the whims of the political class leaving behind the technocrats in matters of importance to national discourse.

“For us in the academia, the overriding purpose of any activity we undertake is ultimately to contribute to societal growth and national development which invariably ensures our own growth as faculty members and citizens,” he stated.

“Education is life for us as individuals, it is life for us as a society and it is life for us as a nation. So when we politicise education, we politicise our very lives,” he stated.

Free SHS

In an address read on behalf of the Minister of Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, by the Northern Regional Director of Education, Alhaji Mohammed Haroon, he also added his voice to the over politicisation of issues concerning education.

“We should be debating on how to make the laudable SHS policy succeed and not sending ourselves back to the campaign time when we were marketing our ideas”, he stated.

He, therefore, called on all Ghanaians, especially, the academia, civil society groups and the media to help carry through the implementation of the free SHS, saying the free SHS had come to stay and together with one accord, it would succeed.

Communique

A communiqué issued at the end of the 12th Harmattan School, recommended that educational policy formulation should not be hinged on partisan politics but rather emphasis should be placed on making policies that responded to the developmental goals of the country.

They also recommended that Ghana as a nation must have a shared long-term vision and an educational system from which political manifestoes and educational policy implementation plans should be drawn.

The participants further recommended that there should be broader stakeholder consultations for educational policy review, formulation and reforms.

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Source: Graphic.com.gh

The post Don’t politicise national issues — UDS Vice Chancellor appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Anniversary will be on the theme; “Consolidating Our Values through Sense of Unity and Purpose”.

BONABOTO is an association of students in the various tertiary institutions in the country based in Bolgatanga, Nabdam, Bongo and Tongo in the Upper East Region.

The President of the BONABOTO National Tertiary Education Wing of the UDS, Joachim Tizaaba Elbazar, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Bolgatanga, said the anniversary will bring all the students who come from those areas together to discuss issues that would promote development.

He said education, agriculture, roads, and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) were issues of national concern and the association had started to develop proposals to address them.

While commending the leadership of the association for working towards the progress of the region and the nation as a whole, Mr Elbazar said that the body was developing plans to link up effectively with the BONABOTO Mother Union to achieve accelerated and sustained development in the Upper East Region.

He underscored the need for unity of purpose that would prevent conflicts and promote peace and harmony in the region to ensure smooth development.

Mr Elbazar appealed to the Municipal and District Assemblies, Non-Governmental Organisations, philanthropists and individuals to collaborate with the association to provide the necessary support the region needs.

He said some cultural and social beliefs and practices were very detrimental to the development of the region and called for effective education, sensitisation and advocacy to change the phenomena and promote development.

“Negative cultural practices such as child marriages and teenage pregnancies are among the factors that affect the growth of the region. While some parents withdraw their female children from school for marriage, many of the girls also become pregnant and drop out of school.

“These, we all need to join hands with each other to fight to pave way for rapid development”, he said.

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Source: GNA

The post UDS BONABOTO to celebrate 10th Anniversary in March appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This follows reports of over eight separate robbery incidents on students of the institution within the past one week by some some unknown armed men, who have been terrorizing students over the years.

Mohammed Jaraa, President of the Students Representative Council (SRC) of the UDS Wa campus in an interview with Citi News said, “most of the victims received cutlass and gun wounds, whilst some female students were raped” after loosing their belongings such as money, laptops and other valuables to the perpetrators.

[contextly_sidebar id=”vVpHmAWcSrqnUWChXA0obd4uFSAFegGK”]He said more students have fallen victim to the endless attacks especially in the last couple of months.

The SRC President disclosed that several attempts by the student leadership of the university to find a solution with their authorities have yielded no results as more cases are being recorded.

“As we speak, a lot of students are on admission at the Upper West regional hospital in Wa, and there seems to be no solution” Jaraa explained.

He added that the situation is seriously impacting negatively on students as “most of them now find it difficult to commute from Bamahu and the Wa township to the school’s campus for studies”.

He further stated that students who reside on the campus also can no longer move at night for fear of being attacked.

The students have therefore given the Upper west regional security council and the leadership of the UDS a 3- day ultimatum to find a lasting solution to the security challenges confronting the university, or they will be compelled to embark on series of demonstrations to press home their demand.

Citi News checks at the Upper West Regional Police Command revealed that over 16 cases of stealing and robbery were reported from the UDS within the last one month.

The Upper West Regional Police Commander, DCOP Boapeah Okyere, in an interview with Citi News said his attention has been drawn to the security situation at the university, but blamed the situation on some miscreants among the students.

“As an institution, we are not reneging on our mandate of ensuring peace within the municipality. But situation at the university is caused by the students themselves”.

He said a 24-hour police patrol has been mounted at the university to maintain law and order.

Citi News can report that a final year student of the UDS, Suleman Shafiu, is in the grips of the police for stealing a laptop from his colleague.

Meanwhile, attempts by Citi News to get authorities of the school to comment on the security challenges confronting the university were unsuccessful.

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By: Mahama Latif/citifmonline.com/Ghana.

The post Wa UDS students threaten demo over robbery attacks, rape appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The campaign, which is an initiative of the Environment and Resource Studies Department of the University, is to among other things, sensitize farmers and the entire residents of the Upper West Region, on the ravaging impact of bush burning on the environment.

Available records at the Upper West regional office of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), indicates that over 200 hectares of maize farms have already been ravaged by bush burning, while about 90% of the region’s forest cover is affected annually by the menace.

Addressing students and various stakeholders at the launch in Wa,the Principal of the Wa Campus of University for Development Studies, Prof Sylvester Galaa, challenged institutions mandated to combat the incidence of bush-fires in the country to review their strategies and come out with more innovative ways of curbing the situation.

He regretted that attempts by state institutions to rid the country of the devastating impact of bush-fires, have over the years not yielded the desired results, as many farmers especially in the northern part of the country, continue to count their losses to bush-fires.

“There is high incidence of bush-fires, and it seems to suggest that the strategies to combat it are not working as expected. Just some few days ago some farmers had to lose their crops and other incidences that were reported, indicating that there is a high increase”.

“This means that, agencies mandated to ensure that the menace is reduced, should review their strategies on how they are tackling the issue. You must begin to look for innovative ways to curb the menace”.

The Professor said the ERSD is changing its teaching and learning strategies by adding community awareness to that of the the classroom in a bid to change attitudes towards issues of climate change.

“It appears to me that the department of environment and resource studies is changing its teaching and leaning strategies about environment awareness creation by adding community awareness strategies to that of the classroom”.

A Marathon event was organized to climax the launch, and prices were given to the best 10 students who ended the race.

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By: Mahama Latif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post UDS Wa campus launches anti-bush-fire campaign appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Robbery attacks on students usually end up with the students receiving cutlass wounds from their assailants. These young men who perpetrate these crimes are well known indigenes of Wa.

On June 18, 2014 a male student was attacked on the Wa Polytechnic Street and left unconscious until he was found the following morning by a Good Samaritan who rushed him to the hospital for treatment. The student had his head smashed and still lives with the scar and periodic headaches.

On October 26, 2015 two students – a male and female – were attacked at the Shekafatu Islamic Primary and Junior School, at Mangu, in the Wa Municipality. The female student in an attempt to flee the scene came face to face with her assailant who inflicted cutlass wounds on her head, arm, thigh and fingers while she was defending herself. The male student who after a first hit on his waist which landed on his belt, fled before further harm could be done to him.

On July 2, 2017 two young men went to a private hostel to rob students of their belongings. They ended up inflicting severe cutlass wounds on a student who tried to defend himself. The student was referred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital when he was rushed to the Upper West Regional Hospital.

Although, in the  October 26, 2015 as well as July 2, 2017 cases the criminals were identified, arrested, prosecuted and sentenced to prison, the matter needs attention. It’s no pleasant experience that a guardian or a parent receives a call only to be told that armed robbers have inflicted cutlass wounds on his or her ward. The situation leaves much to be desired. Safety of human beings everywhere is critical to the development of our societies and no university can be attractive when there’s an unsafe environment for students.

These experiences will dissuade potential students from applying to the Wa Campus of the university. Again, it sends the signal that the Wa Municipality is not safe and as such the police must get their acts together in combating crime and its related activities in the Municipality. There’s a truth that no police officer would openly admit: that they are poorly resourced to fight crime. The Police are doing their best but, it’s high time they opened up and told the public the factors that hinder their work in no uncertain terms.

It’s true that the authorities of the university can’t go round choosing for students where to go or where to stay; but, there’re some efforts that can be made to create a safe environment for the students of the university. Without the students there will be no university as well as the authorities of the university, so if students are unsafe then there’s the need to address the recurrent robbery and the consequent cutlass wound inflicting attacks on students and create a safe environment for students of the University.

Also, the Students’ Representative Council of the University must address the safety of the students. The student population of the university are scattered all over the Wa Municipality so it’s difficult to properly know the welfare of every student, nevertheless the Students’ Representative Council must identify ways of ensuring that the students are safe.

Most of the landlords of the private hostels have no concern for the safety and security of their tenants. It’s sad that after paying huge sums of money for a room in a hostel one can’t be safe. On holidays, these hostels are broken into by criminals who steal the belongings of these students. The landlords of these hostels must be made to understand that as much as there’s the need to make money, there’s equally the need to ensure that tenants and their properties are safe.

Students must also become security conscious at every point in time. It’s important that every student remains alert. One can’t take for granted these unfortunate incidents. It’s said that when one hears of a neighbour’s burning beard, there’s the need to keep water by one’s own beard.

The robbery attack on students is rife. It beats the attack of the swarm of bees and stone pelting experience of Professor Kwesi Yankah and his friends when they travelled from Wa to Tamale to stage a play on the freedom of Nelson Mandela years ago.

The safety of UDS students on Wa Campus can’t be discounted. It can make the university unattractive to potential students. Who would want to learn in an unsafe environment?

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By: Alex Blege

The writer is a freelance journalist.

Email: [email protected]/[email protected]

The post The safety of UDS students of Wa Campus [Article] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Dr. Felix Abagale, the initiative deserves enough resources for its successful implementation.

“For the government’s one village one dam initiative to succeed there is the need for sufficient financial resources to be allocated for the agric sector’s growth.”

He admonished government to be bipartisan in engaging experts during the projects design, saying, “There is the need for government to engage experts in the design of projects and training of the beneficiaries devoid of partisan politics.”

Dr. Felix Abagale was addressing the maiden International Conference on Irrigation and Agricultural Development (IRAD) at the UDS International Conference Centre, Tamale City campus.

He said the UDS is committed to help government achieve its goal in that regard.

The UDS Pro-Vice Chancellor, Professor Alhassan Seidu, said Ghana’s irrigation potential is 1.9million hectares, but only 11.6 percent or 221,000 hectares is being utilized.

“This means the potential investable area of 88.4 percent of the irrigable potential provided a significant investment opportunity in Ghana.”

Prof. Seidu advocated Public-Private-Partnership investment in the irrigation sector with emphasis on Northern Ghana where water is in abundance during rainy season.

“The provision of small dams and dugouts for the purposes of harvesting rainwater as well as flood waters, and also the construction of tube wells have the potential to greatly contribute to reducing the hunger period through increased agricultural activities such as dry season farming.”

He touted the UDS as a tertiary institution with a unique characteristic of competent expertise whose services are indispensable in irrigation and agricultural development.

“Particularly, we are having irrigation agronomists, soil and water conservation experts, economists and also experts with unmatched skills in the design of dams and dugouts.”

“Since its establishment in 1992, the university has supported and will forever support the delivery of improved irrigation and agricultural development in Ghana and beyond through training and the provision of technical consultancy services especially for the savannah zone,” Prof. Seidu reaffirmed.

The event was themed, “Irrigation and Agricultural Development: Prospects and Challenges for the Sector’s Growth.

The IRAD conference sought to create a common platform for experts in the irrigation and agricultural sectors especially research scientists, local authorities, farmers and non-profit organisations to network and form synergies as means of finding solutions to the sector’s teething challenges.

As a continental conference, the participants comprising academics, researchers, policy makers and civil society organizations, and duty bearers, were from Africa, Europe and the United States of America.

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post UDS extols government’s one village-one dam initiative appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The new programmes include Bachelor of Dental Surgery, BSc. Health Education and Promotion, BSc. Medical Records and Health Information Systems, BSc. Medical Imaging Technology, BSc. Anaesthesia, BSc. Dietetics, Certificate in law, and Faculty of Geosciences.

Professor Seidu Al-hassan, Pro Vice-Chancellor of UDS, who announced this during the UDS’ 25th matriculation ceremony in Tamale on Friday, said “these programmes have been recommended and approved by the Academic Programmes Committee and the Academic Board for implementation.”

The UDS admitted 7,971 undergraduate applicants out of the total number of 11,531 applicants to pursue various degree programmes at all its four campuses (Tamale, Nyankpala, Navrongo and Wa) for the 2017/2018 academic year.

Professor Al-hassan said, “The University shall continue to mount programmes that are relevant to Ghana’s development aspirations and to the enhancement of quality of the communities.”

He said the UDS’ Parallel Medical Programme would begin in January, 2018, to increase the intake of students to pursue medicine in the country.

He said Management of UDS was committed to students’ welfare, and would continue to improve the conditions in the hostels on the University’s campuses to make life comfortable for students.

Professor Al-hassan called on traditional rulers, opinion leaders and owners of hostel facilities, to take appropriate steps to beef-up security in the private hostels, to ensure safety and security of students and their property, advising students to be security conscious.

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Source: GNA

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He underscored the need for government to tap into the expertise of members of the Ghana Institute of Horticulturists (GhIH), to ensure the programme’s successful implementation.

Professor George Nyarko was addressing the 7th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Ghana Institute of Horticulturists (GhIH) on the theme, “Planting for food and jobs, the role of Horticulture.”

Professor Nyarko stated that, “(GhIH will support the government on any matters related to horticulture as far as the campaign is concerned.”

According to him, the nation’s tertiary institutions offering agriculture courses are ill-equipped.

This situation, he bemoaned is hampering the practical orientation aspects of the curriculum.

“Right now, Nyankpala Faculty of Agriculture has about 100 acres of soya beans and maize, and we’re not able to plant more simply because of lack of equipment and machinery.”

“We want planters, ploughing machines, processing machines and other things. I am appealing to the government under the campaign to resource the faculties of agric universities in Ghana.”

Northern Regional Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, William Boakye Acheampong, said the planting for food and jobs programme will create 750,000 jobs across the commodity value chain.

He encouraged the Ghana Institute of Horticulturists to give government its expert advice on the implementation of the programme.

William Boakye Acheampong anticipated that, by the end of the 2017 cropping season, maize production might increase by 30%, rice 49%, soya beans 25% and sorghum 28%.

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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He unequivocally served notice that the university would not hesitate to revoke the certificate of any students caught completely lifting academic materials for presentation as their theses.

“I am reliably informed that students simply download theses from the internet conducted in other jurisdictions and change names to reflect their location. There is no doubt that this is academic thievery and must be condemned in the strongest words possible.”

“Another more serious and condemnable act is that some other group of students’ contract professional theses writers for a fee and present such works as their products.”

Professor Gabriel Ayum Teye was addressing the 2017/18 matriculation ceremony for fresh Sandwich students at the Tamale City campus, Dungu.

He rebuked the phenomenon saying, “As you may have realized, these practices reflect in performances on the job after graduation and this explains why employers are now complaining about the quality of products from the universities and other training institutions.”

He therefore implored supervisors to give quality guidance to students assigned to them doing their project work.

According to him, the number of students who registered for various courses for the 2017/18 academic season was appreciable.

“The university started sandwich programmes with the aim of providing an opportunity for workers in particular to undertake further studies while at post since they find it difficult to join main stream university education due to work schedules.”

“It is therefore with delight that I announce the resolve of this university to constantly widen this window for the personal development of workers. I am also happy to state that UDS has increased the number of sandwich programmes on offer and plan to roll more.”

“The introduction of career oriented postgraduate programmes aimed at meeting the aspirations of people working in the field of development has been one of the driving forces in the significant growth in the numbers,” he observed.

Professor Gabriel Ayum Teye advised the students to serve as Ambassadors of change in their localities.

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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