4 Years SHS Is Better Than 3 Years

The Brong Ahafo Regional Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Yaw Dabie, has called on those who matter in the educational system to reconsider going back to the four-year system of education at the senior high school level.

 He pleaded with the government and everyone involved in education in the country to put aside political differences and consider the four-year system of education again to help push education forward in the country.
According to him, the recent WASSCE results have shown that the four-year education is the best. He said since infrastructure is already in place, the government should reconsider and go back to the four-year system introduced by the erstwhile Kufour government to produce matured graduate.
Mr Dabie who was interacting with the media in Sunyani on education expressed worry over the way education is being politicized in the country and called on Ghanaians to think of the future of the country when meddling with education.
He further mentioned that, the NDC in their manifesto mentioned that they would build ten additional teachers’ training colleges in the country was quick to ask that since this has not materialized, he is wondering where the teachers from the training colleges would teach after coming out of school.
“The three years will bring redundancy in the schools because there will not be classes for teachers to teach,” he added.
He pleaded with the teachers to give their best when teaching so as not to produce half-baked graduates who he claimed speak and write only Pidgin English.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister for Education who is also the Member of Parliament for Techiman North, Alex Kyeremeh has denied allegations in the public that the four-year students who wrote the WASSCE with the three-year students did better.  He noted that, the three-year students performed equally better than the four year students.
Mr Kyeremeh called on Ghanaians to have faith in the educational system because the government has put in place measures to improve the educational system.
 From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani

‘Lower Interest Rate On Loans’

The National President of Ghana Association of Business Education Teachers (GABET), Gordon Osei Marfo, has appealed to micro-finance institutions in the country to lower their interest rates on loans so that their customers may not eventually become poorer than they were.
He also commended them for their vital role in the country’s development and said a visit to some micro-finance institutions showed that many applicants especially parents queued up for loans to pay their wards’ school fees and also inject some of the money into their businesses.
Mr. Marfo, who was speaking at the 21^st Conference of GABET in Sunyani, further called on the Central Bank to put in place mechanisms for detecting unregistered micro-financial institutions and getting them either to regularize their operations or shut down.
“This in my opinion will help eliminate or at least reduce fraud on unsuspecting public,” he added.
The GABET President expressed worry over the refusal of public nursing training schools to admit business students who seek admission at their institutions and commended some private nursing schools for going all out to admit their students.
Mr. Marfo, who is also the assistant headmaster of Twene Amanfo Senior High Technical Institute (TASTECH) in Sunyani, called on his colleagues to encourage their students to read cost accounting, as students who intend reading accountancy, auditing, taxation, financial management and other related business programmes should have knowledge in cost accounting.
Speaking on judgment debts, the President of GABET expressed worry over the many judgment debts and admonished the government to prosecute offenders after ordering them to pay the money.
“Additionally government officials who through omission or commission or negligence bring about such debts should be brought to book,” he opined.
The guest speaker at the GABET five-day conference and workshop under the theme “The Growth of microfinance industry and its impact on the economy”, Dr. Yaw Gyimah-Larbi, Assistant Director, Banking Supervision Department, said the theme for the conference was timely considering the fact that most stakeholders in the microfinance industry seemed to have been taken by surprise with the recent proliferation of microfinance institutions all over the country.
“The role of microfinance institutions in ensuring credit availability to the economically poor people and small entrepreneurs is critical in the sustainability of growth in the poor and emerging economies such as ours,” he added.
He said due to the influx of the microfinance institutions in the country, the Bank of Ghana would be publishing licensed micro-finance institutions in the dailies soon and advised people to go on their website and check the licensed ones before dealing with them.
He also mentioned that the Bank of Ghana intends to constantly monitor and review the business environment and enact laws or issue out relevant guidelines that would ensure stakeholder satisfaction thereby enabling the micro finance sector to remain vibrant and sustainable.
From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani

GIBA Denies Meeting Gbevlo

Executive Secretary of Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), Gerald Ankrah,  has denied media reports that the National Security has met GIBA members to deliberate on how they will operate on the day of the Supreme Court verdict.

According to him, the group together with the National Media Commission (NMC) and National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) are on regional tour organising workshops for their members on how they can help maintain peace before and after the Supreme Court verdict.
Mr. Ankrah, who sounded surprised, said none of the members of GIBA had informed the association of any meeting with the national security. “We haven’t received any invitation from the national security for any meeting” he added.
He denied the reports on Ark FM in Sunyani and said it was unconstitutional for the national security to tell radio stations not to pick phone calls or have panel discussions after the Supreme Court verdict.
Mr. Ankrah said the Association had already organised workshops in the Eastern, Ashanti, Greater Accra, and the Northern regions.
He noted that the next stop would be in the Central and Western regions. He also promised that the association would train all its members in the country before the Supreme Court verdict.
From Vivianna Mensah, Sunyani