ACHISCO LAUNCHES GOLDEN JUBILEE ACTIVITIES (PAGE 54, NOV 22, 2010)

THE Acherensuahene, Agyewodin Adu Gyamfi Ampem, has appealed to the government and the general public to assist the Acherensua Senior High School (ACHISCO) to become a centre of excellence in the country.
While praising Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah for his foresight in establishing the school, the Omanhene said the school still lacked a number of facilities to enable it to achieve its mandate.
Launching activities marking the Golden Jubilee celebration of the school in Kumasi, Agyewodin Ampem, who is also the Chairman of the Ghana Education Service Council, said classrooms, dormitory blocks and other teaching and learning materials must be put in place to properly position the school to deliver.
A number of activities have been lined up for the year-long celebration.
Agyewodin Ampem said ACHISCO had turned out many great people who were contributing in various ways towards the development of the nation and abroad.
He said but for the school, many of such great people might not have had the opportunity to continue their education after the basic level.
The school, which was established in September, 1961, was one of the Educational Trust Schools set up by the Convention People’s Party’s (CPP) government to boost education in the country.
The Omanhene said Dr Nkrumah’s realisation that only education could lift up the rural areas and for that reason established the school at Acherensua, had been worthwhile.
He praised past and present crop of chiefs of the area, current and pioneer tutors and other personalities whose sweat and toil had contributed in diverse ways to the success of the institution.
Agyewodin Ampem acknowledged that although the school faced challenges, it had produced men and women of excellence who were serving in various capacities throughout the world, adding that five of the current parliamentarians were products of ACHISCO.
He said once their performance had carved a name for the school, it behoved past students as owners to maintain such priceless possession better than anyone else, and urged them to help the school in its development programme.
The Omanhene said all hands must be on deck to make ACHISCO a conducive environment for effective teaching and learning.
The Headmaster of the school, Mr John Asare Baiden, appealed for support for the school to effectively carry out its mandate.
He said the school had no assembly hall, which did not speak well of it, adding that some of the school buildings, including the classrooms had also not seen any major renovation for years.
“Insufficient accommodation for the students and poor road network at the compound are some of the major problems facing ACHISCO,” Mr Baiden stated.
He stressed that only a one-unit block was used as dormitory to house 400 female students.
“The students have to arrange and re-arrange the dining hall during any gathering. We call on the old students, most of whom are in gainful employment to come over to Macedonia and help us,” the headmaster said.
Present to support their alma mater were three parliamentarians, namely Mr Albert Kan Dapaah, the MP for Afigya Sekyere West, Mr Yaw Baah, the MP for Kumawu and Mr Balado Manu, the MP for Ahafo Ano South. They were supported by Mr Kennedy Agyapong, the MP for Assin North.

JOURNALISTS ATTEND SEMINAR ON 'REPORTING CORRUPTION' (PAGE 18, NOV 13, 2010)

THE GHANA Integrity Initiative (GII) in partnership with the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has organised a seminar on reporting corruption in the country for representatives of media houses in Kumasi.
The seminar which was on the theme, “Reporting Corruption: Our contribution to building a just and democratic Ghana” was chaired by Mr Kweku K. Apeadu-Baah, a clinical psychologist.
It was aimed at deepening the understanding of the participants on the nature, causes, manifestations and effects of corruption on the society as a whole.
It was to build the participants’ capacity to demand responsiveness, accountability and transparency from people and institutions in the country; and mobilise people to become anti-corruption monitors and crusaders.
Speaking on the ‘Effects of corruption on National Development in Ghana’, Mr George Amoah, Project Co-ordinator of Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre (ALAC ), said the battle on corruption in the country could only be won by the collaboration of all and sundry.
Mr Amoah said the country, “is not far from developed but only corruption is seriously holding us back. We haven’t defined corruption because as of now there’s no law that clearly warn people from getting into its claws”.
He described bribery as an exchange of favour between a briber and the bribed and mentioned cheating, tricks, embezzlement, nepotism, fraud, looting, petty and grand corruption and many more which all lead to highly placed individuals exploiting their positions to extract large bribes in return for favours.
He advised the public to be careful to vote for the right people and not those who bribe their way to the top.
Mr Amoah noted that a survey conducted in 2005 by a research team showed that about 87 per cent of Ghanaians are reluctant to report issues of corruption because they were not certain something will be done about it and called on people who become victims of corrupt practices to call on ALAC Ghana, which seeks to provide the avenue for people and corporate bodies to lodge their complaints with the appropriate institutions for redress.
He directed aggrieved citizens to refer their complaints to established agencies, such as CHRAJ, Serious Fraud Office (CFO), Police Intelligence and Professional Standard Bureau, BNI, National Security and others to better handle cases of corruption.
Mr Joseph Maxwell Apeagyei, Senior Principal Investigator, Anti-Corruption Focal-person, Ashanti Region, said Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the local chapter of Transparency International, sought to educate the Ghanaian public on the negative effects of the canker of corruption and the need to curb it.
He urged the public to demand transparency and accountability from office holders, and called for networking among governmental and community-based organisations to enhance efficiency and transparency in governance.

KMA INAUGURATES EDUCATIONAL PROJECTS (PAGE 29, NOV 4, 2010)

The Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Samuel Sarpong, has appealed to stakeholders in the educational sector to inculcate the culture of maintenance in public schools to prolong their lifespan.
He pointed out that the government was poised to provide basic facilities needed to improve academic programmes and therefore urged the public to support in that direction.
Mr Sarpong made the appeal when he inaugurated a number of projects executed under the District Development Fund through the Functional Organisation Assessment Tool (FOAT).
The projects included a 12-unit classroom block at the Prempeh College Basic A school, a two-unit classroom block at Adiebeba Metro Assembly, a mechanised borehole at New Agogo and a kindergarten (KG) block at Emena.
The rest were KG blocks at Bomso, Aboabo, Wesley College and Opoku Ware Experimental schools, where six-unit classroom blocks were inaugurated in addition.
In his address Mr Sarpong noted that the provision of free uniforms and exercise books were true indication of the government’s commitment to lessen the burdens of parents and also to encourage pupils to focus on their academic programmes.
He urged residents in the Kumasi metropolis to honour their tax obligations to enable the assembly to generate the needed financial resources to initiate development programmes.
Giving a brief account of the Prempeh College Basic School, the Headmaster, Mr George Tawiah, said inadequate classrooms had undermined effective academic work, since the school operated two streams in February 2007.
Mr Tawiah commended the KMA for providing the new classroom block to reduce congestion in the school. He, however, appealed to the assembly to support the school with a computer laboratory to enhance the teaching and learning of Information Communication Technology (ICT) programmes.
He also appealed to the assembly to help in the construction of a fence to ward off intruders who had been invading the school to disturb academic work.
Present at the ceremony included Akyempemhene, Oheneba Adusei Poku, who deputised for the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.