TWO thousand and eight hundred persons in 120 villages and towns along the Volta Lake in the Kwahu East, Kwahu South and Kwahu North districts in the Eastern Region have been rendered homeless by floods.
Besides, the floods have also destroyed 850 buildings and more than 1,800 farms, markets and roads are submerged.
This was confirmed when the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, accompanied by the respective District Chief Executives for the Kwahu South, Kwahu East and Kwahu North districts, Mr Joseph O. Sasu, Mr Samuel Asamoah and Mr Charles Evans Apraku, as well as officials from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), led by its Eastern Regional Co-ordinator, Mr Ranford Boakye, visited some of the affected communities in the three districts last Friday.
The visit was used to sensitise the affected persons, most of whom were reluctant to relocate to high grounds to avoid the damaging effects of the floods.
In the Kwahu South District, 490 persons have been displaced and 322 houses destroyed in 22 communities, while 1,202 persons had been affected in 74 communities in the Kwahu North District (Afram Plains).
In the Kwahu East District, a transformer belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) that supplies power to the Kotosu Water Treatment Plant had submerged, threatening the supply of water to health and educational institutions as well as various households in the area.
One thousand and two persons in 74 communities have been affected in the Kwahu North, where a number of markets and roads, have been flooded making them unmotorable.
At Ekye Amanfrom and Agordeke in the Kwahu North, the floodwaters have inundated the passenger terminals at the two harbours, making it difficult for the pontoons and canoes to berth for passengers.
During the tour, the delegation presented a number of relief items worth GH¢8,800 to the affected persons. The items comprised 800 bags of rice, 40 cartons of soaps, 100 pieces each of bowls and buckets, 20 bales of used clothes, 500 pieces each of plates and cups and 22 bales of poly-mats.
The beneficiary communities included Kotosu and Asempanye in the Kwahu South District, Adawso and Asubone Odumase in the Kwahu South District.
The rest were Ekye Amanfrom, Gadokope, Dororotopong-Kodome, Bridgeano, Teacher Kope and Agordeke in the Kwahu North District.
During the tour, Mr Ofosu Ampofo and his entourage came face-to-face with the threatening nature of the increasing volume of the floodwater, which had caused extensive damage to buildings and personal belongings of the affected persons.
Amazed at the increasing volume of the flood, which, at the time of the visit, could take less than five minutes to make some of the houses in the Kwahu South and Kwahu North Districts to submerge, Mr Ofosu Ampofo appealed to the international community and the country’s development partners to come to the aid of the government to provide the people with their basic needs such as blankets, used clothes and mattresses.
He also called on the three district assemblies to immediately go to the aid of the affected persons by providing them with their basic needs and water tanks at vantage points to serve drinking water to the affected communities to curb the spread of any water-borne diseases.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
THREE BANK WORKERS JAILED FOR FRAUD (BACK PAGE, OCT 30, 2010)
THREE employees of the Suhum branch of the Mumuadu Rural Bank who stole a total of GH¢148,422 belonging to the bank have been sentenced to seven years' imprisonment each with hard labour by the Koforidua High Court.
The convicts, Michael Nti Gyakari, Paul Mensah and Frank Dankwa, were all cashiers at the bank where they embezzled GH¢46,170, GH¢39,334 and GH¢62,918 respectively.
As their modus operandi, they collected the passbooks of customers who went to the bank to deposit their money and wrote the deposited amounts in the passbooks but failed to enter them in the bank’s books and destroyed the deposit forms to avoid detection before pocketing the money.
The three, who are currently students at the University of Cape Coast, were charged with stealing but pleaded not guilty to the 254 counts.
According to the facts of the case as presented by a State Attorney, Mr Frederick Tetteh, on May 14, 2009, after close of work, while the Suhum branch manager of the Mumuadu Rural Bank, Mr James Osafo, was checking the transactions for the day, he detected from Paul Mensah’s cashiers book that there were transactions which were not supported by the vouchers and which indicated stealing.
Consequently, he said, the internal auditor at the bank’s head office at Osino was invited to assist with investigations.
Mr Tetteh said it came to light that within a period of one year, while the three persons were on duty at the bank, they received various sums of money from customers and entered such money in the respective bank passbooks of the customers.
However, the convicts failed to enter the same amount in the ledger books and also failed to feed the computer with the transactions and pocketed the deposited amounts.
The case was then reported to the police and after investigations, it emerged that Nti Gyakari stole GH¢46,170 while Paul Mensah and Frank Dankwah stole GH¢62,918 and GH¢39,334 respectively.
According to the State Attorney, in the course of investigations Nti Gyakari paid GH¢5,000 while GH¢1,900 and GH¢2,000 were paid to the bank by Paul Mensah and Frank Dankwah respectively before being arraigned.
Passing sentence, the court, presided over by Mr Justice G. S. Suurbaareh, said the incarceration of the three should serve as deterrent to other personnel working in the banking industry.
The convicts, Michael Nti Gyakari, Paul Mensah and Frank Dankwa, were all cashiers at the bank where they embezzled GH¢46,170, GH¢39,334 and GH¢62,918 respectively.
As their modus operandi, they collected the passbooks of customers who went to the bank to deposit their money and wrote the deposited amounts in the passbooks but failed to enter them in the bank’s books and destroyed the deposit forms to avoid detection before pocketing the money.
The three, who are currently students at the University of Cape Coast, were charged with stealing but pleaded not guilty to the 254 counts.
According to the facts of the case as presented by a State Attorney, Mr Frederick Tetteh, on May 14, 2009, after close of work, while the Suhum branch manager of the Mumuadu Rural Bank, Mr James Osafo, was checking the transactions for the day, he detected from Paul Mensah’s cashiers book that there were transactions which were not supported by the vouchers and which indicated stealing.
Consequently, he said, the internal auditor at the bank’s head office at Osino was invited to assist with investigations.
Mr Tetteh said it came to light that within a period of one year, while the three persons were on duty at the bank, they received various sums of money from customers and entered such money in the respective bank passbooks of the customers.
However, the convicts failed to enter the same amount in the ledger books and also failed to feed the computer with the transactions and pocketed the deposited amounts.
The case was then reported to the police and after investigations, it emerged that Nti Gyakari stole GH¢46,170 while Paul Mensah and Frank Dankwah stole GH¢62,918 and GH¢39,334 respectively.
According to the State Attorney, in the course of investigations Nti Gyakari paid GH¢5,000 while GH¢1,900 and GH¢2,000 were paid to the bank by Paul Mensah and Frank Dankwah respectively before being arraigned.
Passing sentence, the court, presided over by Mr Justice G. S. Suurbaareh, said the incarceration of the three should serve as deterrent to other personnel working in the banking industry.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
AKUAPEM RIDGE TOWNS BENEFIT FROM WATER PROJECT (SPREAD, OCT 26, 2010)
TOWNS and communities located on the Akuapem Ridge in the Eastern Region are to benefit from a water supply project designed to solve the perennial water problem in the area.
When completed in 2012, the rural water project, which is a component of the Kpong Old Water Works, will benefit communities such as Akorley, Abonse, Aperede, Adukrom, Awukugua, Dawu, Akropong, Mamfe, Amanokrom, Tutu, Obosomase, Ahwerase, Aburi, Gyankama, Peduase, Kitase and Berekuso.
The Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Alban Bagbin, who disclosed this in a speech read on his behalf at the Odwira festival of the chiefs and people of Aburi on Saturday, said access to improved water supply would enhance economic activities in the beneficiary communities.
The event, which was used to raise funds in aid of the Aburi Educational Fund and development projects in the area, drew a large gathering of people, including the Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Joe Gidisu; the Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Baba Jamal; the Municipal Chief Executive for Akuapem South, Dr Godfried O.B. Twum, and the Member of Parliament for Aburi/Nsawam, Mr O. B. Amoah.
Mr Bagbin said though the government inherited difficulties in practically every sector of the economy on assumption of office, it was making every effort to resuscitate the economy, as well as restore various social services to the people.
Highlighting some of the developments on the Akuapem Ridge, he said the refurbishment of the Presidential Lodge at Peduase had finally been completed.
He also announced that the Peduase village facelift and infrastructural upgrading, which were major additional works to the Peduase Lodge Project, had also been completed.
The Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Joe Gidisu, said the construction of the Pantang-Mamfe road, initiated by the NDC government and implemented by the NPP government, had enhanced the movement of the people and goods.
He, however, said the Aburi-Nsawam road project, which was awarded some years ago, had come to a standstill due to inefficiency on the part of the contractor and indicated that the contract would soon be re-awarded to “a credible and competent contractor”.
He hinted that a number of selected roads in the Aburi township would soon be rehabilitated, while the Ghana Highway Authority, in collaboration with the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI), was undertaking studies on the landslide on the hills at Ayi Mensah to curb any future landslide in the area.
Mr Jamal advised the youth to prepare themselves adequately by taking their education seriously to enable them to face the future with confidence.
Earlier in his welcoming address, the Aburihene, Nana Otubuor Kwasi Gyan, expressed appreciation to the government for the construction of the Aburi Craft Village, which, he said, would create jobs for the youth in the area.
He expressed concern at the poor state of the Aburi Botanical Gardens, which he attributed to lack of maintenance and, therefore, called for a public-private partnership to assist in the refurbishment of the gardens.
When completed in 2012, the rural water project, which is a component of the Kpong Old Water Works, will benefit communities such as Akorley, Abonse, Aperede, Adukrom, Awukugua, Dawu, Akropong, Mamfe, Amanokrom, Tutu, Obosomase, Ahwerase, Aburi, Gyankama, Peduase, Kitase and Berekuso.
The Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Alban Bagbin, who disclosed this in a speech read on his behalf at the Odwira festival of the chiefs and people of Aburi on Saturday, said access to improved water supply would enhance economic activities in the beneficiary communities.
The event, which was used to raise funds in aid of the Aburi Educational Fund and development projects in the area, drew a large gathering of people, including the Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Joe Gidisu; the Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Baba Jamal; the Municipal Chief Executive for Akuapem South, Dr Godfried O.B. Twum, and the Member of Parliament for Aburi/Nsawam, Mr O. B. Amoah.
Mr Bagbin said though the government inherited difficulties in practically every sector of the economy on assumption of office, it was making every effort to resuscitate the economy, as well as restore various social services to the people.
Highlighting some of the developments on the Akuapem Ridge, he said the refurbishment of the Presidential Lodge at Peduase had finally been completed.
He also announced that the Peduase village facelift and infrastructural upgrading, which were major additional works to the Peduase Lodge Project, had also been completed.
The Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Joe Gidisu, said the construction of the Pantang-Mamfe road, initiated by the NDC government and implemented by the NPP government, had enhanced the movement of the people and goods.
He, however, said the Aburi-Nsawam road project, which was awarded some years ago, had come to a standstill due to inefficiency on the part of the contractor and indicated that the contract would soon be re-awarded to “a credible and competent contractor”.
He hinted that a number of selected roads in the Aburi township would soon be rehabilitated, while the Ghana Highway Authority, in collaboration with the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI), was undertaking studies on the landslide on the hills at Ayi Mensah to curb any future landslide in the area.
Mr Jamal advised the youth to prepare themselves adequately by taking their education seriously to enable them to face the future with confidence.
Earlier in his welcoming address, the Aburihene, Nana Otubuor Kwasi Gyan, expressed appreciation to the government for the construction of the Aburi Craft Village, which, he said, would create jobs for the youth in the area.
He expressed concern at the poor state of the Aburi Botanical Gardens, which he attributed to lack of maintenance and, therefore, called for a public-private partnership to assist in the refurbishment of the gardens.
Friday, October 22, 2010
GES INTERNAL AUDITORS APPEAL FOR LOGISTICS (PAGE 61, OCT 25, 2010)
Internal auditors of the Ghana Education Service (GES) have called on the government and the GES to provide official vehicles and logistics to all the regional offices of the unit to enable personnel to discharge their duties more diligently.
That, they said, would empower the auditors to frequently monitor educational institutions to ensure judicious utilisation of funds provided by the government to promote quality education.
“If an auditor depends on the client’s means of transport for easy movement and materials to work with, he could inevitably be influenced in his reportage, ” they stated.
The acting Eastern Regional Auditor of the GES, Mr Joseph A. Allotey, who made the call, said “with the lack of transportation in all the regional units, the only option left for the GES internal auditors to monitor educational institutions is to use public transport as their daily mode of transportation”.
“Independence, one of the ethical and professional standards for auditors to perform their duties diligently, cannot be achieved when we lack some of the basic logistics and facilities,” Mr Allotey stated.
He was speaking at the 7th annual Eastern Regional conference of the Association of GES internal auditors at Asuogyaman in the Eastern Region.
The event themed: “The Internal Auditor: An agent for safeguarding assets for a better Ghana”, brought together internal auditors of the GES and regional and district directors of education in the Eastern Region to take stock of the achievements, challenges and plan towards the future progress of the units.
The acting regional auditor said the work of the GES internal auditors entailed frequent monitoring of several educational institutions across the country.
However, he said, no region could boast duty post vehicles to facilitate the movement of the auditors, a situation that often compelled the personnel to resort to the use of public transport in the discharge of their duties.
In his view, the GES received a chunk of the national budget to promote better education delivery in the country.
This and other development resources were provided by the government to pursue programmes such as the provision of basic classroom blocks for children attending classes under trees, the Capitation Grant, the School Feeding programme, the Free School Uniforms and the supply of free exercise books.
He said it was the responsibility of the internal auditors of the GES to ensure that funds provided for such programmes were utilised for the intended purposes.
“By so doing, the internal auditor ensures that contracts are appropriately, effectively and efficiently awarded and executed and reviews auditable areas such as contract selection, purchasing, receipt of goods and services, checking and approving of payment vouchers, ” Mr Allotey stated.
He, therefore, appealed to the management of the GES to support and co-operate with the internal auditors to discharge their professional duties more diligently.
He also appealed to the management of the GES to refrain from perceiving internal auditors as “witch hunters since our task is to act as watch-dogs for the government just as external auditors act on behalf of shareholders and creditors of a company”.
“The success or failure of the internal audit unit in the GES as an agent for safeguarding assets for a better Ghana will depend on the support of the top GES management, independence of the internal auditor and strong ethical culture within the GES, ” Mr Allotey added.
For his part, the Eastern Regional Chairman of the association, Mr Adolph Attah-Gatorwu, advised the GES internal auditors to live above reproach to enable them to earn the confidence and respect “that the management of GES desires”.
He said when the unit was restructured into zonal systems, the regional and the zonal heads of the unit were promised means of transport but the promise had “become a dream of the past”.
“We can easily count how many of our members have offices of their own at their stations while some have to share furniture with other staff members, a situation that makes keeping our documents safe and out of reach of third parties difficult, ” Mr Attah-Gatorwu said.
He, therefore, appealed to the GES to help address such problems confronting the internal auditors to enhance their role as agents for “safeguarding assets”.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Asuogyaman District Chief Executive, Mr Johnson O. Ehiakper, appealed to the GES to empower internal auditors in the area of logistics to enhance their output.
“Internal auditors need to be empowered to produce reports on time for a proper evaluation of controls put in place by the management to expose weaknesses that can lead to assets and other financial losses that had the tendency to derail quality education delivery, ” he stated.
That, they said, would empower the auditors to frequently monitor educational institutions to ensure judicious utilisation of funds provided by the government to promote quality education.
“If an auditor depends on the client’s means of transport for easy movement and materials to work with, he could inevitably be influenced in his reportage, ” they stated.
The acting Eastern Regional Auditor of the GES, Mr Joseph A. Allotey, who made the call, said “with the lack of transportation in all the regional units, the only option left for the GES internal auditors to monitor educational institutions is to use public transport as their daily mode of transportation”.
“Independence, one of the ethical and professional standards for auditors to perform their duties diligently, cannot be achieved when we lack some of the basic logistics and facilities,” Mr Allotey stated.
He was speaking at the 7th annual Eastern Regional conference of the Association of GES internal auditors at Asuogyaman in the Eastern Region.
The event themed: “The Internal Auditor: An agent for safeguarding assets for a better Ghana”, brought together internal auditors of the GES and regional and district directors of education in the Eastern Region to take stock of the achievements, challenges and plan towards the future progress of the units.
The acting regional auditor said the work of the GES internal auditors entailed frequent monitoring of several educational institutions across the country.
However, he said, no region could boast duty post vehicles to facilitate the movement of the auditors, a situation that often compelled the personnel to resort to the use of public transport in the discharge of their duties.
In his view, the GES received a chunk of the national budget to promote better education delivery in the country.
This and other development resources were provided by the government to pursue programmes such as the provision of basic classroom blocks for children attending classes under trees, the Capitation Grant, the School Feeding programme, the Free School Uniforms and the supply of free exercise books.
He said it was the responsibility of the internal auditors of the GES to ensure that funds provided for such programmes were utilised for the intended purposes.
“By so doing, the internal auditor ensures that contracts are appropriately, effectively and efficiently awarded and executed and reviews auditable areas such as contract selection, purchasing, receipt of goods and services, checking and approving of payment vouchers, ” Mr Allotey stated.
He, therefore, appealed to the management of the GES to support and co-operate with the internal auditors to discharge their professional duties more diligently.
He also appealed to the management of the GES to refrain from perceiving internal auditors as “witch hunters since our task is to act as watch-dogs for the government just as external auditors act on behalf of shareholders and creditors of a company”.
“The success or failure of the internal audit unit in the GES as an agent for safeguarding assets for a better Ghana will depend on the support of the top GES management, independence of the internal auditor and strong ethical culture within the GES, ” Mr Allotey added.
For his part, the Eastern Regional Chairman of the association, Mr Adolph Attah-Gatorwu, advised the GES internal auditors to live above reproach to enable them to earn the confidence and respect “that the management of GES desires”.
He said when the unit was restructured into zonal systems, the regional and the zonal heads of the unit were promised means of transport but the promise had “become a dream of the past”.
“We can easily count how many of our members have offices of their own at their stations while some have to share furniture with other staff members, a situation that makes keeping our documents safe and out of reach of third parties difficult, ” Mr Attah-Gatorwu said.
He, therefore, appealed to the GES to help address such problems confronting the internal auditors to enhance their role as agents for “safeguarding assets”.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Asuogyaman District Chief Executive, Mr Johnson O. Ehiakper, appealed to the GES to empower internal auditors in the area of logistics to enhance their output.
“Internal auditors need to be empowered to produce reports on time for a proper evaluation of controls put in place by the management to expose weaknesses that can lead to assets and other financial losses that had the tendency to derail quality education delivery, ” he stated.
CATHOLIC BISHOP OF KOFORIDUA SUPPORTS SCHOOL PROJECTS (PAGE 63, OCT 25, 2010)
THE Catholic Bishop of Koforidua, Most Rev. Joseph Afrifa Agyekum, has donated 200 bags of cement to the St Mary Vocational Training Institute and the St Thomas Senior High Technical School at Asamankese in the Eastern Region.
He also provided the two beneficiary schools with two Samsung air conditioners meant for the offices of the headmasters of the schools.
The items were meant to assist management of the two schools to construct more structures to enable them to accommodate the new first year students they were to admit.
Presenting the items on behalf of the Koforidua Catholic Bishop, the Financial Administrator of the Catholic Diocese of Koforidua, Very Rev. Fr Justin Mensah, said the materials reflected the commitment of Most Rev Agyekum to support the schools to address their infrastructure problems and also to enhance teaching and learning .
He assured management of the beneficiary schools that the Catholic Church was collaborating with other agencies, both local and international, to help put up modern classroom blocks for the two schools and appealed to the headmasters to use the materials for the intended purpose.
Receiving the materials on behalf of the two schools, the Headmaster of the St Thomas Senior High Technical School, Mr Stephen Ahenkrah-Owusu, thanked Most Rev Agyekum for his commitment to the progress of the schools.
“You have come to our aid at a time we are in desperate need for help to tackle our infrastructure challenges.
We are faced with infrastructure problems, which we can only solve with the support of the government and well-meaning individuals in society as well as our past students”, Mr Ahenkrah-Owusu stated.
Pix: Very Rev. Fr Mensah (third left) handing over the items to Mr Ahenkrah-Owusu, Headmaster of the St Thomas Senior High Technical School.
He also provided the two beneficiary schools with two Samsung air conditioners meant for the offices of the headmasters of the schools.
The items were meant to assist management of the two schools to construct more structures to enable them to accommodate the new first year students they were to admit.
Presenting the items on behalf of the Koforidua Catholic Bishop, the Financial Administrator of the Catholic Diocese of Koforidua, Very Rev. Fr Justin Mensah, said the materials reflected the commitment of Most Rev Agyekum to support the schools to address their infrastructure problems and also to enhance teaching and learning .
He assured management of the beneficiary schools that the Catholic Church was collaborating with other agencies, both local and international, to help put up modern classroom blocks for the two schools and appealed to the headmasters to use the materials for the intended purpose.
Receiving the materials on behalf of the two schools, the Headmaster of the St Thomas Senior High Technical School, Mr Stephen Ahenkrah-Owusu, thanked Most Rev Agyekum for his commitment to the progress of the schools.
“You have come to our aid at a time we are in desperate need for help to tackle our infrastructure challenges.
We are faced with infrastructure problems, which we can only solve with the support of the government and well-meaning individuals in society as well as our past students”, Mr Ahenkrah-Owusu stated.
Pix: Very Rev. Fr Mensah (third left) handing over the items to Mr Ahenkrah-Owusu, Headmaster of the St Thomas Senior High Technical School.
Monday, October 18, 2010
ROTARY CLUB DONATES TO ADUKROM PRESBY JHS (PAGE 11, OCT 18, 2010)
THE Rotary Club of Accra Airpot has presented 200 Science and Mathematics books and other learning kits to the Adukrom Presbyterian Junior High School.
The materials formed part of the club’s commitment to support less-endwed schools to improve on teaching and learning.
Presenting the items, the President of the club, Mr Caodoc Mills Lamptey, said the members of the club decided to support the school to enable the students to read wide and prepare adequately for the Basic Education Certificate Examination.
He advised the students to make use of the books and materials so as to improve upon their knowledge.
He charged the management of the school to take good care of the books to ensure that they served the purpose for which they were donated.
Receiving the items, the Headmaster of the school, Mr Edmund Amoah, thanked the members of the Rotary Club of the Accra Airport for their support to the school which he described as timely to motivate the students to read and prepare well for the BECE.
The materials formed part of the club’s commitment to support less-endwed schools to improve on teaching and learning.
Presenting the items, the President of the club, Mr Caodoc Mills Lamptey, said the members of the club decided to support the school to enable the students to read wide and prepare adequately for the Basic Education Certificate Examination.
He advised the students to make use of the books and materials so as to improve upon their knowledge.
He charged the management of the school to take good care of the books to ensure that they served the purpose for which they were donated.
Receiving the items, the Headmaster of the school, Mr Edmund Amoah, thanked the members of the Rotary Club of the Accra Airport for their support to the school which he described as timely to motivate the students to read and prepare well for the BECE.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
HEALTH TRAINING INSTITUTIONS ASK FOR MORE RESOURCES (PAGE 51, OCT 13, 2010)
THE Conference of Heads of Training Institutions (COHHETI) has urged the Ministry of Health (MoH) to adequately resource and support health training institutions.
This is to enable them to meet accreditation requirements and consolidate their tertiary status.
It said the provision of well-equipped and stocked libraries, computers, textbooks and health-related journals, current editions of teaching and learning materials, buses for educational tours and vehicles for administrative duties and supervision of students in the clinical areas would enable them ensure quality training of health professionals.
Speaking at the opening of the 2010 annual general meeting and scientific session of the association in Koforidua, the Chairman of COHHETI, Mr James Yambor, said the lack of financial support and other logistics “is adversely affecting the tertiary status of health training institutions”.
The meeting, on the theme: “Consolidating the tertiary status of health training institutions: Challenges and prospects”, brought together heads and acting heads of the various health training institutions in the country.
Making reference to the government’s White Paper on reforms in the tertiary educational system in the country, Mr Yambor said teacher training colleges, agricultural training colleges, nursing and midwifery training colleges were all classified as tertiary institutions and placed under the Regional Colleges of Applied Arts, Science and Technology (RECAAST) to ensure cost-effectiveness by sharing teaching facilities, infrastructure and equipment.
However, he said, resource constraints facing the Ministry of Education (MoE) did not allow for the full implementation of the RECAAST system, in spite of the fact that the MoE had recommended that all RECAAST institutions be affiliated to the universities and steps be taken to upgrade the resources of the potential institutions to those of diploma-awarding institutions.
He, therefore, called on the MoH to help address those challenges to enable health training institutions to measure up to their tertiary status and deliver quality training to students.
For his part, Mr Richard K. Adjei of the NAB advised lecturers in the health training institutions to engage in research activities in relevant areas to enable them to acquire more knowledge and build their professional capability.
This is to enable them to meet accreditation requirements and consolidate their tertiary status.
It said the provision of well-equipped and stocked libraries, computers, textbooks and health-related journals, current editions of teaching and learning materials, buses for educational tours and vehicles for administrative duties and supervision of students in the clinical areas would enable them ensure quality training of health professionals.
Speaking at the opening of the 2010 annual general meeting and scientific session of the association in Koforidua, the Chairman of COHHETI, Mr James Yambor, said the lack of financial support and other logistics “is adversely affecting the tertiary status of health training institutions”.
The meeting, on the theme: “Consolidating the tertiary status of health training institutions: Challenges and prospects”, brought together heads and acting heads of the various health training institutions in the country.
Making reference to the government’s White Paper on reforms in the tertiary educational system in the country, Mr Yambor said teacher training colleges, agricultural training colleges, nursing and midwifery training colleges were all classified as tertiary institutions and placed under the Regional Colleges of Applied Arts, Science and Technology (RECAAST) to ensure cost-effectiveness by sharing teaching facilities, infrastructure and equipment.
However, he said, resource constraints facing the Ministry of Education (MoE) did not allow for the full implementation of the RECAAST system, in spite of the fact that the MoE had recommended that all RECAAST institutions be affiliated to the universities and steps be taken to upgrade the resources of the potential institutions to those of diploma-awarding institutions.
He, therefore, called on the MoH to help address those challenges to enable health training institutions to measure up to their tertiary status and deliver quality training to students.
For his part, Mr Richard K. Adjei of the NAB advised lecturers in the health training institutions to engage in research activities in relevant areas to enable them to acquire more knowledge and build their professional capability.
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