Wednesday, 14th September, 2022

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DAILY ANALYST Wednesday, 14th September, 2022
Produce teachers to meet 21st
century learning demands
– Minister to Colleges of Education
Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum,
the Minister of
Education, has
charged Governing
Councils of Colleges
of Education to produce
innovative teachers to meet 21st
century learning spaces.
He advised the Councils to
train a competitive workforce to
be fit for purpose and meet the
changing needs of education.
Dr Adutwum said this in
Accra at the inauguration of 16
Governing Councils of Colleges of
Education in Accra.
The Minister administered
the oath of office and oath of
secrecy to the Councils with
the mandate to proffer strategic
Mr Stanley Martey,
Communications
Manager,
Ghana Water
Company Limited
(GWCL), has refuted claims that
water from the Company is
contaminated.
He stressed that water
coming from the Company
met the best of international
standards and was treated
thoroughly and that if there was
any contamination, it would be
from the handling and storage
by end users and the channel
of water transmission and
distribution.
Mr Martey said this during
a panel discussion on the
sidelines of a multi-stakeholder
engagement on Ghana WASH
Week celebration.
The event, organised by the
Ghana Coalition of NGOs in the
Water and Sanitation, brought
together stakeholders in the
sector to discuss issues facing the
water and sanitation sector.
The event was on the theme,
“Urban Water Supply in Ghana –
Reflecting on the Past, Defining
the Future.”
Mr Martey said the Company
had over the years made a lot of
investments in water treatment
and accessibility through
adoption of technology and
changing transmissions and
direction in managing the affairs
of the Colleges.
He urged the Councils to
adhere to the tenets of the
oath and avoid divulging board
meetings to the public.
“You need to desist from
recording proceedings of
meetings and sending them to
others. You need to work in unity
and build a good reputation for
the Colleges,” he advised.
He said the country had
invested in STEM education and
had built six state-of-the art
science laboratories, stressing
that research revealed that 40 per
cent of jobs may not exist in the
next 10 years.
Dr Adutwum, who is also
GWCL refutes claims that
water from the Company
is contaminated
distribution channels.
On revenue mobilisation, the
GWCL Communications Manager
said they had put in place
measures to ensure that they
reduced the non-revenue water
losses from 42 per cent to 35 per
cent by 2025.
“A lot goes into reducing this
non-revenue water losses which
mostly occur as a result of illegal
and inappropriate connections.”
“We have adopted
digitilisation and technology in
most of our operations, which
we intend to use to meet some of
these challenges,” he added.
Mr Attah Arhin, Chairperson,
Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Water
and Sanitation, urged the GWCL
to strengthen its regularisations
and partnerships to enhance
their service delivery.
He urged them to also
enhance engagement with the
public to address challenges endusers
faced in water supply.
The Ghana Water, Sanitation
and Hygiene (WASH) week
is celebrated annually by
stakeholders in the sector to
discuss issues affecting the
sector.
The theme for the week long
celebration is: “Pursuing Greater
Prioritisation and Behavioural
Change for Sustainable
Safe Drinking Water and
Environmental Sanitation.”
the Member of Parliament
for Bosomtwe, urged the
leadership of the Colleges to
create an empowered learning
environment for effective
teacher-student relationships
to build confidence and improve
academic excellence.
Dr Adutwum emphasised
the need for the trainees to
have a voice in the teaching
and learning environment by
meaningfully participating in the
discourse of teaching activities
and being empowered to ask
questions without intimidation.
“We need to train our
teacher trainees to go beyond
memorisation of lesson notes
and focus on being assertive
in creating modules for the
transformation of the country,”
he said.
He said the Colleges of
Education played a critical role
in the transformation of the
country’s educational system and
charged them to leave a legacy
by transforming the trainees
into productive and meaningful
members of society.
“Look at the unique selling
point of the Colleges. Focus on
The Minority in Parliament
Tuesday urged
the Ministry of Communication
and Digitalisation
and National
Communications Authority (NCA)
to work together to ensure that
Ghanaians do not suffer unduly
in the SIM reregistration exercise
due to the perceived competition
between them.
“The present level of competition
leaves much to be desired,”
Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority
Leader, said in Parliament.
“A return to the monopoly
days or any operation of pseudo-competitive
environment or
duopoly will be an unpardonable
indictment.”
Mr Iddrisu said Ghanaians
should not be punished with a
blockage of their SIM cards, especially
when a significant number
the activities of the institutions
and be interested in the
curriculum of the Colleges for
better improvement,” he said.
Dr Adutwum urged the
leadership of the Colleges
to avoid trivial issues like
prescribing uniforms for the
trainees and concentrate more
importantly on improving
learning outcomes in the
institutions.
Right Reverend Abraham
Kobina Ackah, the Chairman,
Wiawso College of Education,
commended President Nana
Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the
confidence reposed in them and
pledged their commitment to
work to achieve their mandates.
He assured the Minister that
he would uphold the mission and
vision of the Colleges and strive
for excellence.
The Board is made up of
representatives of the various
stakeholders, including the
had not been able to access the
national ID, the only medium for
registering, through no fault of
theirs.
Addressing the Press Corp
in Parliament, Mr Iddrisu said
the Ministry and the NCA were
ignoring the legitimate concerns
of Ghanaians, who were saying
they did not have the Ghana Card
to facilitate their SIM reregistration.
He said the government was
proceeding erroneously as if every
Ghanaian had the Ghana card,
adding: “This is simply not true,
it is not the case.”
“Digitalisation, Information
and Communication Technology
(ICT) are directly tied to key fundamental
rights including rights
to privacy and communication
as no person should be subjected
to interference with the privacy
Ghana Education Service, Alumni,
Ghana Tertiary Education
Commission, government
nominees, academic affairs,
National Teaching Council, and
Students’ Representative Council.
The Colleges are; Abetifi
College of Education, Ada
College of Education, Agogo
Presbyterian Women’s College
of Education, Akatsi College of
Education, Akrokerri College of
Education, Atebubu College of
Education, Bagabaga College of
Education, and Berekum College
of Education.
The rest are: Dambai College
of Education, Komenda College
of Education, Nusrat Jahan
Ahmadiyya College of Education,
Presbyterian College of
Education, Seventh-day Adventist
College in Agona-Ashanti and
Asokore, St Francis College of
Education, and Wiawso College of
Education.
Minority urges Ministry, NCA to
ensure smooth SIM reregistration
of his or her communication….”
he said.
The frustrations in the reregistration
exercise with telecom
companies through third-party
private entities as well as the NIA
having different mandates could
only be said to be “repressive”.
“Why is the Minister and the
Government for that matter not
acting with the same zeal and
alacrity to ensure that Ghanaians
achieve a successful transition
from analogue radio and television
to digital terrestrial radio
and television, since the switchover
deadline has long passed,”
he asked.
Mr Samuel Nartey George, the
Deputy Ranking Member on the
Communications Committee,
said the Minister had a responsibility
to the Ghanaian people to
ensure there was prudent use of
the taxpayer’s money.
“If she chooses to go ahead
with this illegality, there are
court procedures ahead. We will
fight it, we will stand with our
constituents,” he said.
Mr George, the Member of
Parliament of Ningo-Prampram,
urged the Communication Minister,
Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful,
not to roll the exercise with
sanctions but ensure the service
benefitted all.
He said the resort to (L.I 2111)
as the basis for the sole use of the
Ghana Card as an identification
document was untenable as the
Legislative Instrument did not
make it a sole identity but only
described it as principal document.