Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Lesbians take over Accra Mall

Story: HAdiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah

Some lesbians within the Greater Accra Region are now using the Accra Shopping Mall, as a fertile ground to practice their lesbianism.

The mall, which is currently the hottest spot within the Metropolis due to the various entertainment centres, restaurants, clothing shops among others attract a lot of people especially the youth.

At any giving time, smart looking young ladies are on the majority. Some with genuine intentions to shop, eat, watch movies or browse the Internet. Others also storm there basically hang out or perhaps to find suitors.

One major area where such lesbians advertise themselves is behind the doors of the various female washrooms situated at the mall. As soon as one sits on the water closet, the first thing that strikes is the various writings behind the door.

The phone numbers and the names of the lesbians are done with blue ink while others look like numbers written with a sharp instrument. Some of the writings read, “ Are you a lesbian? Call Ophelia on .., Interested in a lesbian? Call ….. I love gals call,” among others. Beside the lesbians, some prostitutes have also written their phones numbers behind some of the restrooms for business.

Interestingly, some people who seem to be infuriated by such inscriptions have attempted to cancel some of them with their pens while others have written “stupid girls you will go to hell against some of the names and contact numbers”.

This reporter feigned interest by calling one of the phone numbers. It went through and the lady said “I am currently doing something at Osu, can we meet at 6:00pm at the eating area at the Mall to take it from there?”

Although issues of homosexuality have taken over the media lately, the lesbians are also in the background doing their own thing with little focus on their escapades.

Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English Language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The practice is very common in senior high schools (SHS), especially the girls’ schools where is termed as ‘supi’.

The Daily Graphic interviewed some of the SHS students in Accra and they confirmed the practicing of supi in the schools. Some revealed “ the girls share food together and sometimes sleep on the same bed in the dormitories during lights out. During their birthdays they shower each other with lots of gifts and also fight with other girls over their partners,” they disclosed.

Apart from the activities of the lesbians, there are some men at the mall whose main target are married women. One of such men is a smart looking young man who calls himself Kobby. He takes your number with the intention of coming to your office to show you some products he deals in. Later, he calls your number and all he discusses are issues of sexual relationship.

Massive Shake up by Ministry of Education

Story: Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah

There has been a massive shake up in the educational sector by the Ministry of Education (MoE).

The reforms which is to take effect from this 2011/12 academic year is to take a bold and comprehensive action to address the performance of students in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), teacher attendance, technical and vocational skills for unplaced candidates among others.

The Deputy Minister of Education, Mr Mahama Ayariga, who made this known at the press conference said this reforms have become necessary “since receiving the 2011 BECE result, the Minister of Education has been analyzing them and engaging stakeholders to find out the root cause of failures among candidates from the 2009 to 2011”.

Mr Ayariga said as part of the reform the sector minister has director that additional special budget should be made to about 50 districts mostly in the Northern Region, Upper East, Upper west, northern part of the Volta and Brong Ahafo to contract qualified personnel to teach in the core subjects areas which have often accounted for the low performance of candidates. Adding that the renewal of these contracts will be tied to performance of the candidates in their final examination.

He disclosed that to further enhance accountability by heads of schools, from the next academic year MoE will cause the publication of the Ghana Schools League Table in the newspapers and on the ministry’s website. It will comprise the performance of all schools (basic schools and second cycle schools).

Mr Ayariga said the government has also secured about $70,000,000 million to be used to support skills and apprenticeship training of BECE candidates who have not been placed in senior high schools (SHSs) or technical institutions (TIs).

In addition, he said a policy is being put in place to ensure that appointment for school headship will be strictly base on teachers with a minimum of five years teaching experience with a School Management Certificate from any accredited university. “The position will no longer be based on the length of stay in the school to enhance competition and fair placement”.

Mr Ayariga said the MoE has directed that henceforth all teaching and learning materials meant for schools in the Northern, Upper East and Upper west Regions should be delivered to them at the expense of the government instead of insisting that heads of schools from the districts travel all the way to Accra for the goods themselves.

The Ghana Education Service has also reviewed the school fees for the 2011/12 academic years. The review was made upward to cover the cost of feeding, which has been peg at GH¢1.80 per day students to enable the schools improve both the quality and quantity of food served. “With this adjustment heads of school should ensure that students are served with good food under a healthy condition”.

He said the amount payable to by fresh students are as follows: Boarding students will pay the approved fees of GH¢328.70, day students GH¢160.70 and foreign students will pay a tuition fee of GH¢468.72.

The increase in school fees since 2008/9 has largely been accounted for by the cost of uniforms and other materials, which the schools provide. It is however considered by the MoE that GES should allow parents to provide these items themselves to avoid the impression that high school fees are being charged in the schools, he added.

GLOBAL Partnership Education has committeed to allocating $ 50 million to Ghana to address the issues of regional and gender related inequalities resulting in the poor performance of pupils at the basic educational level from poor districts.

The money would be used by deprived districts to redress the imbalances accounting for their poor performance.

A Deputy Minister of Education, Mr Mahama Ayariga, made this known at a press conference in Accra today to announce new reforms at the first and second cycle levels of education in Accra today.

The reforms include a compulsory school management training programmes for all headteachers and headmasters of all public schools, review of the tenure of headteachers and headmasters, abolition of the use of length of stay in a school as requirement for headship of school, greater autonomy for school management as well as an annual publication of Ghana Schools League Table.

On the school management training, Mr Ayariga said, that would constitute a radical departure from the erroneous assumption that all teachers could easily assume school management roles without appropriate school management training, adding that teaching in a school and management of the school were two different functions, hence the need to develop management competencies of teachers who assume management roles.

He said the present arrangement where a person on assumption of the status of headteacher stayed in that position until he/she retired did not in “our opinion encourage accountability of heads”.

“Security of tenure as head teacher or headmsater must be tied to performance. Consequently, the Ministry of Education has directed the Ghana Education Service to review the conditions of service of head teacher and headmasters to limit their tenure of office to five years, renewable subject to demonstrated improvement in the performance of the school,” he said.

Mr Ayariga said the ministry believed if the security of tenure of headteachers and headmasters was tied to performance there would be greater accountability in school management .

The present policy which ensures that the most senior teacher in a school ascended to the status of headteacher or headmaster, he said, “is to be reviewed so that all teachers with a minimum of five years classroom teaching experience who obtained school management from GIMPA or any accredited tertiary institution, could be appointed as a headteacher or headmaster.

“School headship will henceforth be based on appropriate management competence and not necessarily a function of how long you have been a teacher at a school, he said.

Mr Ayariga directed the Ghana Education Service to review the administrative powers of schoo heads with a view to devolution of more powers to headteachers and headmasters.

He said to enhance school management accountability, the ministry would cause to be published in the newspapers and on its website an annual league table displaying the performance of all basic and second cycle schools in the assessment instruments that had been developed by the Chief Inspector of Schools.

He said the measures which aimed at improving school management should have significant impact on school performance.

With regard to the delivery of teaching and learning materials to poor performing districts, Mr Ayariga said, the ministry had directed that teaching and learning materials meant for schools in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions and the northern Volta and Brong Ahafo Region should always be delivered to them with dispatch and at the expense of central government instead of insisting that the districts should come to Accra for the goods themselves.

He dismissed recent publication by the Statesman newspaper that the 2011 BECE results were the worse in 13 years, explaining that 59.45 per cent qualified for placement into SHSs and not 46.93 as deliberately misrepresented by Danquah Institute.

“The 2011 BECE candidates are pupils who for six and a half years under the NPP regime (September 2002 to January 2009) were in basic school. The rest of their two and half years of basic education received under the NDC regime (January 2009-June 2011). While the NPP had six and half years to mould them, NDC had only two and a half years to finish the work,” he emphasised.

GES institues compulsory extra classes

Story: Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah
The Ghana Education Service (GES) is to institute compulsory extra classes for all Form Three students in public junior high schools (JHS) to prepare them adequately for next year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
The classes will be held two hours daily after the normal closing hours including Saturday mornings. Currently it is left with barely four months for candidates to write the 20I2 BECE.
This was disclosed to the Junior Graphic in an interview with the Deputy Director General of Education, Mr Stephen Adu. He said to make this successful, a special task force had been set up by the GES in the regions and districts to monitor the attendance of teachers and the performance of students as a whole.
“It has come to the notice of the GES that some of the JHS candidates do not attend school immediately they are registered for the BECE. They only appear at the last minute to write their papers and this translates to poor results, bringing the entire performance of the schools and diistricts down,” he disclosed.
Mr Adu said it was disheartening to see how excellently most of the private schools perform each year in the BECE as compared to the poor output by most public schools. He attributed the abysmal performance of students to the apathy exhibited by parents of students in the public schools.
“Most parents who have their children in the public schools do not take keen interest in their educational progression. They simply do not make the effort to visit the school to find out whether the child attend school regularly or how they perform in the various subjects. Every responsibility has been left in the hands of the teachers which is wrong”.he stressed
He said the classes would be intensified in the districts where candidates had zero per cent in the BECE. “In some of the farming areas and busy trading centres, parents prefer to send their children to farm or sell before coming to school. As a result, they end up being tired and sleepy during classes,”
He called on parents to support the effort to improve on the quality of education in public schools.
Mr Adu said apart from the JHS students, those in the lower primary school would be taught in the Ghanaian languages for a better understanding and appreciation of subjects like Science and Mathematics which most children find difficult to grasp at the foundation. “This would give them better understanding when they get to the Upper Primary and also enable them to produce very good results in future”.

CSSPS moves into action end of August

Story: Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah
The Computerised Schools Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) is to move into action the end of this August to place all qualified candidates into the senior high schools (SHSs).
Although the results for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) is already out, the Secretariat which is patiently waiting for the raw scores from the West Africa Examinations Council to enable it run it’s system is expected to complete the entire placement procedure by the mid of September to enable fresh students start school by the end of September.
The National Co-ordinator of the CSSPS, Mr Samuel Oppong, who disclosed this to the Junior Graphic, in an interview explained that this year communities with SHSs and technical institutions (TIs) stand the chance of placing 30 per cent of candidates within their catchment area that is “the school must be 16km within the community the school is situated”.
Mr Oppong spelt out that the reason for the 30 per cent allocation is to enable potential candidates get access to schools within their communities. “Therefore if you did schooled within the area you will not be considered for placement even if that area is your hometown”, he added.
According to him, qualification for this allocation must be within the minimum pass mark of aggregate 30. However, he said merit will apply when the number of interested candidates exceed the vacancies available.
He pointed out that the 30 per cent allocation is opened to candidates from both the public and private junior high schools.
This year, three categories of candidates will be placed. That is the current candidates, qualified BECE candidates who were unable to get admission into, or deferred their admission into, SHS or TIs within the immediate past three years and foreign candidates (Ghanaian citizens in abroad who want to school in Ghana).
In all, six subjects would be used for the placement. They are the four core subjects namely: English Language, Mathematics, Integrated Science, Social Studies and two other best subjects.
Mr Oppong mentioned that some of the problems of the placement each year is shading of wrong codes and parents changing schools indiscriminately. In order to correct this defect, the Secretariat is urging parents to ascertain the exact schools their wards selected by texting the index number of the candidate and add 11 to it (in all you should have 12 digits) and send to 1477 for confirmation before the system is run by the end of the month.
He cautioned parents to be wary of people who would approach them to pay money to enable them get their children placed in any school. “The Secretariat does not charge any money for placement therefore parents should not allow themselves to be extorted”.

PRESEC Osu deserves better

Story: Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah
Form One students of the Presbyterian Senior High School, Osu cannot wait to enter Form Two it is senior high schools (SHSs) went to school. However, the problem of inadequate infrastructure is far from over.
The Junior Graphic visited some SHSs in the Accra metropolis to assess the state of the government’s classroom blocks which were started last year to accommodate SHS One students.
The accommodation situation at the Presbyterian Senior High School, Osu in the heart of Accra is a sordid sight, indeed. On entering the compound, there is this dilapidated structure that one cannot miss but which serves as a classroom.
Most of the students are crammed into the weak and shabby-looking wooden structure which looks like a pen for animals and not a classroom for students.
The structure has little ventilation and teachers have to virtually struggle for space to teach the students.
To worsen matters, the students have to sit on rented plastic chairs without tables. Some of the students copy notes by placing their drawing boards on to their laps for several hours.
Incidentally, the students were chanced upon writing an examination. Those without the boards had to hold the question papers with one hand and write in the answer sheets on their laps.
The government-financed classroom block in the school is yet to be completed and so some of the first-year students use the uncompleted facility which has a handful of tables, while majority of them sit on plastic chairs.
Some of the students the Junior Graphic interviewed lamented the fact that they had to struggle to write notes because of the non-availability of tables and chairs.
The Headmistress, Mrs Diana Denis Welbeck, admitted that that deplorable situation was not the best for students to study in.
She said if the current problems were not addressed promptly, the situation might worsen when fresh students were admitted in September.

Brong Ahafo Region in focus

THE BRONG AHAFO REGION
Did you know that two years after Ghana attained independence, a region was born on April 4, 1959 out of the then Western Ashanti and named Brong Ahafo? Yes, it is the second largest region in Ghana in terms of land mass, with a territorial size of 39,557,O8sq kms. Amazing, isn’t it?
Let me now formally welcome you to Brong Ahafo, the region at the heart of Ghana, with a multiplicity of ethnic groups, physical features, rich cultural practices, tourist attractions and open and warm-hearted people who are always ready to welcome you and make your stay among them memorable, indeed.
The main towns in the region are Sunyani, the capital, and Techiman, the legendary birthplace of the Akan people. Close to Techiman is the famous Catholic monastery of Tuobodom. You remember the controversial hiplife song by Nkasei, Yefri Tuobodom, yen capital town ne Jinijini? Yes, both Tuobodom and Jinijini are in the region.
The Brong Ahafo Region is bordered on the north by the Northern Region, south by Ashanti and Western, southeast by Eastern, east by Volta and west by Cote d’Ivoire.
The region has 13 administrative districts: Sunyani, Asutifi, Tano, Berekum, Dormaa, Asunafo, Techiman, Wenchi, Sene, Nkoranza, Atebubu, Kintampo and Jaman.
There are two main ethnic groups, namely, the Bonos and the Ahafos, both of Akan extraction. The minority groups are the Nafana of Sampa, Koulongo of Seikwa and Badu, the Mo/Degha of Mo, Libya of Banda, as well as the Nchumuru of Atebubu and Sene.
Interestingly, there are 44 paramount chiefs and five divisional councils constituting the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs.
Sunyani has an airport, which connects the region by air to Kumasi, Accra and Takoradi. It also has three inland lake ports on its portion of the Volta Lake. These are Yeji, New Buipe and Yapei, which can all be reached from Akosombo using the Yapei Queen, among others. Have you seen the Yapei Queen before? It is a huge vessel usually called the pontoon. It is able to carry huge trucks loaded with yams, timber, other foodstuffs and travellers across the lake.
One significant thing that is drawing much attention to the Brong Ahafo Region currently is the Bui Dam which is under construction. When completed, it will be the third major dam in the country after the Akosombo and the Kpong dams.
The main dishes of the people include fufu with nkontomire soup prepared with snails. We also enjoy eating boiled plantain and cocoyam, known as ‘ampesi’.
Each year, there are festivals such as the Apoo, Sasabobirim, Kwafie and Fordjour (Yam Festival) that we celebrate.
The Apoo Festival is celebrated in Techiman and Wenchi in November. It is a festival for the purification of the people to rid them of social evil. The festival lasts one week and includes a variety of traditional cultural activities. It ends on the sixth day with the Apoo procession, during which insinuations are cast on the evil acts of some of its citizens. Even the chief is not spared. This period is a time for family reunions and unity among the people.
Another interesting festival is the Kwafie, also a week-long event held in November and December. The chiefs and people of Dormaa, Berekum and Nsoatre celebrate this festival.
It is a purification ceremony, the highlight of which is a large bonfire in the courtyard of the chief. It is believed that the Dormaas brought fire to Ghana and the legend is symbolically represented in a bonfire.
The Brong Ahafo Region abounds in a wide range of tourist attractions.
Here is a five-day programme to introduce the region to you during your stay.
On your first day, we shall leave Sunyani for Techiman and visit the Techiman Central Market. This is the largest weekly market in Ghana which operates from Tuesday through to Friday each week. It attracts traders, mostly market women, from all parts of the country, as well as from neighbouring countries. Notable among the wares displayed are all kinds of grains, yams, cassava, plantain and assorted fruits and vegetables. The market reaches a climax on Fridays when it is filled with all sorts of people in a festive mood and presenting a multi-coloured blend of culture.
The second day will take us to the Tanoboase Sacred Grove. It is believed that the sacred grove is, indeed, the cradle of Bono civilisation. It served as a hideout for the Bono people during the slave trade and inter-tribal wars many, many years ago.
We shall continue to the only known monastery in Ghana, the Kristo Boase Monastery, established by the Catholic Church for the Benedictine monks, with well-designed facilities and an attractive landscape setting ideal for religious retreats or conventions.
The third day will take us to the one of the major attractions of the Brong Ahafo Region, the well-known Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary which is located 22km north of Nkoranza. Have you ever seen a monkey cooking or sweeping? This is a common sight at the sanctuary, which is home to the Black and White Colobus Monkey and the Mona Monkey. The monkeys are used to humans and are easily found in the compounds in the villages of Boabeng and Fiema.
Once in Fiema, one cannot but proceed to the ancient underground Pinihini Amovi Caves to see the numerous holes through which, according to legend, some of our ancestors came to this earth. A visitor can only be led to the caves by the fetish priest of Pinihini.
We shall leave Kintampo for Wenchi on the fourth day to visit the Busia Mausoleum dedicated to the illustrious son of Ghana and one-time Prime Minister in the Second Republic, the late Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia. The famous Kwaku Fri Shrine is only six kilometres from Wenchi at Nwoase village. The shrine is reputed for the cure of many diseases and ailments.
The fifth day of our tour will take us to the traditional cloth-making village of Nsuta. There, you will find a type of coarse jute-like cloth called “Kyenkyen”, which is produced from the bark of a tree by the same name. It is fascinating to watch the cloth-making process of this special fabric that was worn in ancient times, long before the introduction of machine-made textiles.
This ends the tour of the famous Brong Ahafo Region and I bet you will visit one of the places I have mentioned to enjoy what you have read. After all it is said ‘seeing is believing’.

CSSPS awaits BECE results to begin placement

CSSPS awaits BECE results
—To begin placement September
Story: Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah
The Computerised Schools Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) will begin the placement of all qualified candidates into senior high schools (SHSs) by the end of August.
Although the results for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) are already out, the CSSP Secretariat is waiting for the raw scores from the West African Examinations Council to start the placement exercise. The entire exercise is expected to be completed by the middle of September to enable fresh students to start school at the end of that month.
The National Co-ordinator of the CSSPS, Mr Samuel Oppong, who disclosed this to the Junior Graphic in an interview, explained that this year, communities with SHSs and technical institutions (TIs) stand the chance of placing 30 per cent of candidates within their catchment area. This means“the SHS must be 16km within the community the school is situated”.
Mr Oppong said the reason for the 30 per cent allocation was to enable qualified candidates to get access to schools within their communities. “Therefore, if you did not attend school within the area, you will not be considered for placement even if that area is your hometown”, he added.
According to him, qualification for this allocation must be within the minimum pass mark of aggregate 30. However, he said the schools may have to take a second look at the raw scores during the admission process if the number of interested candidates exceed the vacancies available. In this case, he explained that the candidate with the higher raw score would be provided admission.
He pointed out that the 30 per cent allocation was open to candidates from both public and private junior high schools.
This year, three categories of candidates will be placed. These are: this year’s candidates, qualified BECE candidates who were unable to gain admission to, or deferred their admission to,SHS??? or TIs within the immediate past three years and foreign candidates (Ghanaian citizens abroad who want to attend school in Ghana).???
He said six subjects would be used for the placement exercise. These are the four core subjects namely: English Language, Mathematics, Integrated Science, Social Studies and two best subjects of the candidate.
Mr Oppong mentioned some of the recurring problems with the placement exercise each year as shading of wrong codes and parents changing schools indiscriminately. In order to correct these problems, he urged parents to find out the exact schools their children selected by texting the index number of the candidate and add 11 to indicate the year the candidate sat for the BECE. In all, he said, there should be 12 digits.Parents on any mobile network should send that to 1477 for confirmation before the system is run by the end of the month.
He cautioned parents to be wary of people who would approach them to pay money to them with the promise of securing places for their children in any school. “The secretariat does not charge any money for placement, therefore, parents should not pay money to any person for the purposes of admission to SHS”, he stressed

2011 SHS admissions to reduce

Story: Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah
A large number of BECE candidates for this year are not likely to gain admission to their preferred senior high schools (SHS) since majority of the schools have drastically reduced their intake for the 2011/2012 academic year.
A list the Junior Graphic chanced upon revealed that almost all the Category ‘A’ schools had informed the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) about the limited vacancies for this academic year.
The list, which is mainly made up of the ‘first-class schools” is as follows: the Presbytarian Boys Senior High School (PRESEC) Legon, has declared vacancies for 600 students; Accra Girls SHS, 310; St Roses SHS, 120; St Agustine’s College, 300; Yaa Asantewaa Girls’ SHS 460; Opoku Ware SHS 440; Prempeh College 600; St James Seminary SHS, 120; Bishop Herman College, 320; Mawuli SHS 440; Tamale SHS 650; Ghana SHS, Tamale 540; Bolgatanga Girls’ SHS, 320; Notre Dame Seminary SHS, 90; St Francis Girls’ SHS, 250; and Nandom SHS 165. Unfortunately, almost all these schools were chosen by over 1,000 candidates each this year.
Last year for instance, 2,310 candidates chose Achimota School, however, 572 were admitted. PRESEC Legon was chosen by 2,192 candidadates but 754 were admitted. Accra Academy and St Mary’s SHS where chosen by 2,005 and 1,137 candidates, however, 513 and 297 respectively gained admission.
In the Eastern Region, St Rose’s SHS was selected by 1,145 but 289 were admitted, while Aburi Girls and St Peter’s SHS were also chosen by 2,323 and 1,289 candidates but only 599 and 294 gained admission respectively.
The Central Region which has most of the Category ‘A’ schools had 1,803 selecting Advisedly College out of which 548 were admitted; Holy Child School had 1,843 entries but 537 were chosen; Mfantsipim School had 1,488 entries with 504 admissions; Ghana National College 1,024 but only 37 were selected; Wesley Girls High School, 1,748 with 654 admissions; Mfantsiman Girls, Aggrey Memorial A.M.E Zion, and St Augustine’s College had 677, 682 and 1,773 entries in that order but 52, 30 and 460 students gained admission respectively.
In the Ashanti Region, St Louis SHS, T.I. Ahmadiyya SHS, Prempeh College, Anglican SHS and Yaa Asantewaa Girls were chosen by 2,499, 3,008, 1,936, 5,524 and 1,880 candidates respectively however, 424, 512, 594, 687 and 467 were selected respectively.
The National Co-ordinator of the CSSPS, Mr Samuel Oppong, disclosed to the Junior Graphic in an interview that the heads of the various SHSs attributed the need to cut down on admission to the lack of dormitories and classrooms for students. Therefore, he said parents should not be suprised if their children do not make it to some of the schools mentioned..
This year, a total of 372, 826 sat for the Basic Education Certificate Examination and would be vying for admission to the 503 SHSs in the country.

My first day at school marked

Story: Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah
This year’s “My First Day At School” was marked in a grand style by pupils and students throughout the country.
The day has been set aside specially to welcome fresh pupils entering kindergarten, primary one and junior high school (JHS) one. It also signified the commencement of the 2011-2012 academic year for basic schools.
To make the day a memorable one for the schoolchildren, schools in the Greater Accra Region had the Minister of Education (MoE)), Mrs Betty Mould Iddrisu and her team made up of the acting Director General of the GES, Ms Benedicta Naana Biney; the acting Deputy Director General, Mr Stephen Adu; the Director in charge of Pre-Tertiary Education, MoE and Mrs Mary Quaye all with the Ghana Education Services.
Schools in the regional capitals and districts were not left out as they were equally visited by the Regional Ministers and District Education officials.
In order to enable the children feel comfortable and willing to attend school every day, the schoolchildren were presented with assorted fruit drinks, biscuits and free school uniforms and 15 laptops each to the junior high schools. The laptops formed part of the 60,000 computers the ministry is distributing to public basic schools across the country. Each school is to get at least 15 computers.
The free laptops which is a public-private initiative being carried out by the MoE, with support from rlg Communications, a local computer assembling company, will benefit 13,000 primary and 8,000 junior high schools. The project also forms part of the e-school policy and programme of the MoE to enhance computer literacy and learning in basic schools.
Aside these items, the MoE in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, has also taken delivery of 600,000 hand sanitisers for distribution to basic schools throughout the country.
According to the Public Relations Officer of the MoE, Mr Paul Krampa, the government is expecting one million more of the sanitisers next year for further distribution to the schools. The sanitisers are expected to be kept in classrooms for use by pupils.
The move is to promote hygiene in schools to avoid pupils contracting infectious diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever.

70 per cent candidates placed by CSSPS

Story: Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah
Candidates who wrote this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) can breathe a sigh of relief as the Computerised Schools Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) Secretariat has finally placed them into various senior high schools (SHSs) and technical institutions (TI) across the country.
In all, 70 per cent of the candidates have been successfully placed, while the remaining 30 per cent are expected to be placed in two weeks time, to mop up the exercise.
The National Co-ordinator of the CSSPS, Mr Samuel Oppong, who disclosed this to the Junior Graphic in an interview, said currently the secretariat was preparing to send the list of placed candidates to the various SHSs and TIs.
He, therefore, asked parents and students to contact the respective schools from October 10 to pick their admission letters.
Mr Oppong attributed the delay in this year’s placement exercise to various mistakes in the shading of programmes, schools, code numbers, and even the sex of the candidates.
He said those errors impeded the placement exercise, as the secretariat had to spend time to correct them before embarking on the placement to avoid the situation where candidates would find themselves in schools and regions they never selected.
“Those who would want to know their schools in advance can also text to the short code 1063 on all networks to find whether they have been successfully placed or not,” he added.

It's boarding time

Story: Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah
Every one who has been to boarding school, especially at the senior high school level relishes the experience because it often is fun packed. So one interesting aspect of senior high school (SHS) for most students is the boarding life. Little wonder that it is the wish of every teenager who qualifies for the SHS to gain admission to boarding house. This is because after three years of junior high school education which is usually day schooling, the desire for change is really great.
Though alot has changed in the secondary schools, there are many things which have not changed since the era of your grandparents to your parents and even until now. For the Form One students who are usually referred to as freshers, it is a new bag of experience, however, for some continuing students, boarding life is simply a bitter- sweet experience.And for old students they will always look back on their stay in school with nolstagia.
There is no way a student can pass through the boarding house without weeding frequently, fetching water to the pantry, scrubbing the bathhouse and running all manner of errands for the seniors.
The Junior Graphic, went round some of the boarding schools in Accra to have a chat on their boarding experiences. At the St John’s Grammar School, the Senior Boys Prefect, Dolland Jisam-Kelly and the Senior Girls Prefect, Nasiba Ibrahim said boarding house is quite an interesting place to be.
They said once you are a junior, you cannot run away from being a homo, or being sent around indiscriminately by your seniors. Besides, there are compulsory works like volucompo ( voluntary but compulsory weeding) assembly, preps and dinning. Whoever is absent breaks the rule and must be punished.
According to them, there are happy moments as well, for instance, during entertainment shows students get the opportunity to have fun. During our spare time in our houses we chat and pick on one another. “In fact that is where you will hear all the latest gossip in the school”, they laughed.
Dolland who looks gentle but very witty said currently he has punished all the Form Three boys to weed for acts of indiscipline
Another interesting issue is the various ghost stories that keep coming up in almost every school. “For example, we were told that the statute of the founder of the school situated in the middle of the school compound moves at midnight with the eyes rolling and emitting fire. As a result, students do not go close to it at midnight for fear of been attacked”, they admitted as they giggled.
Another interesting aspect is that almost every student has a nickname. Below are some of them:
Godfred Antwi — Kwabeberim
Dolland Kelly — D J Kelly
Benard Appiah — Stitches
Christopher Oduro — Chicks Fada
Maxwell Agyeman — Paparazi
Prosper Awaiah — Pizzle
Bernice Adika — Shana B
Sonia Nettey — Delis
David Ankrah — Skinny
Solomon Armah — Snow white
Internal Stars
Best Scientist — Turkson Antwi-Bosiako
Best dancer — Eugene Kisseh
The Funniest — Paul Yemoh
Best Cricket Player (national level) — David Ankrah
Best Artist — Leticia Baiden
Benard Simpson — Best Athlete
Best Footballer — Godfred Antwi
Teachers Awards
Overall Best Teacher
Ms Irene Ocansey

Welcome to the world of day students

Story: Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah
When one has stayed at home for almost six months after one’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), one becomes used to sleeping or doing things at his or her own pace. Then, suddenly, that person is admitted to a day senior high school (SHS), the alarm bells announcing that the first day of school can be a rude awakening.
Whether you are an anxious fresh student or a confident senior, heading back to school signals a transition: New classes, new teachers, new schedules and a new social scene.
A day school, as opposed to a boarding school, is an institution where students are taught during the day, after which they return to their homes. Dread it or love it, you have to tune your body and mind in order to adjust to the system of waking up early to avoid the long queues at the trotro stations or taxi ranks to get to school before the bell goes for morning assembly.
Most students, especially those in the boarding house, have the perception that their mates in the day schools enjoy school more than them, simply because they are always with their parents, eat home chow (food) and also escape being punished or homoed by seniors.
What these boarders seem to forget is that day students cannot run away from house chores.
Much as this perception is true, to some extent, students in the day schools admit that it is not all that rosy as their boarding school counterparts believe.
The Junior Graphic visited the St Thomas Aquinas SHS, Salem SHS, Presbyterian SHS, Osu (PRESEC Osu), Holy Trinity SHS (HOTCASS) and O’Reilly SHS (O’Reilly), all day schools in the Accra metropolis, to interact with the students.
Interestingly, all the students had similar stories to share as day students. There are two categories of students in each of these schools. There are those who really selected those schools as their first choice because they live within or close to the schools, and those who find themselves in those schools by default and have to travel far to attend school.
For those who live a few kilometres from the school, all they do is wake up by 5:30 a.m., wash down and walk to school, while those from places such as Madina, Dansoman, Sakumono, Adenta and even Tema have to leave home as early as 4 a.m. to avoid being late to school.
Some of the students disclosed that they had to wake up early in the morning to search for water, sweep their compound, wash the family dishes before taking their bath. Others have to clean their parents’ cars or iron their clothes before setting off.
In almost all the schools, there is a standard duty roster indicating when each student is supposed to sweep the classroom and clean the chairs and tables before morning assembly. Just like students in the boarding house, those in the day schools weed their compound, except those in schools such as HOTCASS, O’Reilly and Salem which do not have enough fallow land.
General cleaning is always top on the school agenda. Students are supposed to clean all the chairs, tables, change dusters and markers. For schools which do not have white boards, students have to find old batteries, open them up and use the black substance in them to paint the blackboard to give it a new look.
Entertainment and inter-club activities are on top of the list of day students. They organise film shows, rap contests, drama festivals and variety shows. The Aquinas students said they host the Tom Festival, during which they invite other schools to come and participate in the Azonto competition (latest dance on campus), crackings and other dance moves.
At PRESEC Osu and O’Reilly, most Fridays are happy days, as classes end earlier for students to prepare and jam immediately after classes till 5 p.m. The latest time for the entertainment curtain to be pulled down is 6 p.m. According to the Assistant School Prefect of PRESEC Osu, Isaac Kofi Annan, such moments are the best for all students. as there is less supervision by teachers and students are at liberty to have fun to the max.
Unfortunately, after all the fun, students have no option but walk as far as the Nkrumah Circle trotro station or the 37 trotro station to catch buses home to face their house chores.

CSSPS placement

Story: Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah
An additional 19,500 canadidates have finally been placed into various senior high schools (SHSs) and technical institutions (TI) across the country by the Computerised Schools Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) Secretariat.
The number represents the 30 per cent of candidates who specifically applied for the allocation of schools within the catchment areas of their communities where there are SHSs and TI.
This brings to an end the selection and placement exercise for candidates who wrote this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
On September 25, the CSSPS Secretariat successfully placed 70 per cent of the BECE candidates majority of whom checked their schools via the text code, provided by the Secretariat.
The National Co-ordinator of the CSSPS, Mr Samuel Oppong, who disclosed this to the Junior Graphic in an interview, explained that his outfit decided to hasten the second phase of the placement exercise to enable all the candidates to start school at the same time.
“In the past we do the placement in phases - as and when more vacancies were declared therefore, candidates who were not placed in the first round ended up starting school late. This sometimes makes it difficult for the late starters to grasp what their colleagues had already been taught,” he added.
Mr Oppong said it was rather unfortunate that this year’s placement had delayed a bit. According to him, the raw scores were not sent to the secretariat on time. “Besides, we later noticed that some of the information on 351 candidates during the online registration by their junior high schools (JHS) contained various errors in the shading of programmes, schools, code numbers, and even the sex of the candidates. Therefore, they had to be corrected to avoid the placement of girls in boys schools”.
He said some of the teachers responsible for the online registration at the JHS level entered wrong information, therefore, there were able-bodied students who were placed in special schools like the School for the Deaf and Akropong School for the Blind.
“This placement had to be corrected since the candidates are not special candidates, however, their information online automatically made them special students. Such errors need to be avoided by teachers as the West African Examinations Counicl does not work on such data as a result, it does not make the exercise a smooth one,” he lamented.
Mr Oppong disclosed that all things being equal, the 30 per cent catchment area allocation would be converted to become the seventh choice during the selection of schools by the candidates.
Some parents the Junior Graphic spoke to expressed their delight over the placement of the children in their first choice schools. However, others were dissatisfied over the placement of their children in their second choice schools although they performed well and, in their view, deserved to be in their first choice schools.
However, Junior Graphic chanced upon a situation where three candidates all had nine-ones with the raw scores 413, 432 and 484 respectively. Unfortunately the candidate with the 413 had her first choice school but the one with 484 who selected the same school did not gain admission. This is because the candidate with 413 opted for Visual Arts while the one with 484 wanted a science programme.
The Secretariat was able to place 3,062 of the re-entry candidates. The re-entry candidates are students who could not go to the SHS the previous year due to financial constraints, health problems, transfer of parents from one region to the other and loss of a parent or guardian.
This year’s placement excercise had various challenges. It would be recalled that the Junior Graphic published in the Wednesday, September 7 — 13, 2011 edition that a large number of BECE candidates for this year were not likely to gain admission to their preferred SHS since majority of the schools had drastically reduced their intake for the 2011/2012 academic year. The reduction had become necessary due to pressure on both classroom and dormitory facilities in most schools.
Parents who want to verify where their children have been placed should send the candidate’s index number plus the year of completion (whether 09, 10, 11) to 1060 while those who need to check the raw scores as well as the schools selected by the candidates should do the same but send the text to 1477.
The Computerised Schools Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) Secretariat has finally placed the remaining 30 per cent of candidates into va
This brings to an end the selection and placement exercise for candidates who wrote this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
On September 25, the CSSPS Secretariat successfully placed 70 per cent of the BECE candidates majority of whom checked their schools via the text code, provided by the Secretariat.
The National Co-ordinator of the CSSPS, Mr Samuel Oppong, who disclosed this to theJunior Graphic in an interview, explained that his outfit decided to hasten the second phase of the placement exercise to enable all the candidates to start school at the same time.
“In the past we do the placement in phases - as and when more vacancies were declared therefore, candidates who were not placed in the first round ended up starting school late. This sometimes makes it difficult for the late starters to grasps what their colleagues had already been taught,” he added.
Mr Oppong said it was rather unfortunate that this year’s placement had delayed a bit. According to him, the raw scores were not sent to the secretariat on time. “Besides, we later noticed that most of the information on the candidates entry forms contained various errors in the shading of programmes, schools, code numbers, and even the sex of the candidates. Therefore, they had to be corrected to avoid the placement of girls in boys schools”.
Some parents the Junior Graphic spoke to expressed their delight over the placement of the children in their first choice schoosl. However, others were dissatisfied over the placement of their children in their second choice schools although they performed so well and in their view deserved to be in their first choice schools.
This year’s placement excercise had various challenges. It would be recalled that the Junior Graphic published in the Wednesday, September 7 — 13, 2011 edition that a large number of BECE candidates for this year were not likely to gain admission to their preferred SHS since majority of the schools had drastically reduced their intake for the 2011/2012 academic year. The reduction had become necessary due to pressure on both classroom and dormitory facilities in most schools.

'Homoin' time!

Story: Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah
Can you imagine being asked to use a pencil, pen or ruler to eat ‘gari soakings’ or sing and dance for over an hour? Yes, that is ‘homoing’ (bullying by seniors) for you. ‘Homoing’ is part of secondary school life. It does not matter one’s size or background; he or she would be bullied just to make his or her life miserable in his or her first few weeks as a fresher in the boarding house.
Everybody who attended secondary school has been bullied before — just ask your mum, dad or even grandparents who went to boarding school.
In every boarding secondary school, there is a special day set aside for ‘homos’. This is a night full of humour for the seniors and frustration for the Form One students, although it is always an interesting experience to recall the day later on in life.
During the ‘homos night’, all fresh students are supposed to dress in various crazy styles. For instance, the boys are made to wear different shoes or slippers, with a cloth wrapped around their bodies and sponges used for neckties. The girls also wear their nighties over pairs of trousers skirts, with their towels as headgear. At the peak of the ‘homos’ night, some seniors who want to be a bit mischievous go round sprinkling talcum powder or pouring laundry blue mixed with gari on the freshers. The freshers are then asked to showcase their talents to entertain the seniors.
As if the ‘homos night’ is not enough, fresh students are also bullied in their respective dormitories. Sometimes the ‘homoing’ becomes just too much to handle. However, the freshers dare not report any senior to the senior housemaster/housemistress or the head of the school. Do you know why? Ha ha ha! Those freshers who make the complaint will end up compounding their wahala (trouble) because when the affected seniors get punished, they in turn will make the life of the complaining juniors very miserable.
The Junior Graphic interacted with some continuing students to find out their experiences when they were in Form One and they had a lot to share. For instance, Nancy Peprah, a Form Four student of St John’s Grammar, said she reported to school a bit late and could, therefore, not be ‘homoed’ during the official ‘homos’ night.
“However, I was not spared. In fact, because I am very smallish, they took advantage of that to send me around the various dormitories to sing and dance for them for hours,” she recalled.
One thing still fresh in Nancy’s mind was when she was asked to use her bathroom slippers to make a phone call to her parents.
“I asked how that was possible and I was shouted at. Immediately I obeyed and had to act it out till I started crying. Instantly they started jumping and laughing and asked me to go. Now I am in Form Four and I also bully students, notwithstanding my physical stature. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of fresh students so we can have fun before I write my final exams,” she disclosed.
For, Thelma Bawa, a Form Two student of the Kumasi Girls’ Senior High School, ‘homos night’ was one of the best forms of entertainment she ever had in school. According to her, her elder sister, who is currently in Form Three in another school, briefed her on ‘homoing’ and so she prepared her mind for it.
“I was sometimes sent around carrying different items on me like a mad person and was also asked to use by shoes to play drums and dance to the tune, which I did. Unfortunately, some of my mates could not stand the pressure and broke down in tears,” she recounted laughing.
Like Thelma and Nancy, remember you will also become seniors one day and, therefore, enjoy every bit of the ‘homos night’.

St John's Grammar in crisis

Story: Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa
St John’s Grammar in crisis
As rain causes havoc
The heavy downpour that hit the Greater Accra Region last week has caused damage to property worth thousands of cedis at the St John’s Grammar School, Achimota.
The rain swept through the entire school, flooding dormitories, the bookshop, Staff Common Room, classrooms and also broke down part of the school wall.
This has compelled the school authorities to shut down the school for repair works to be undertaken.
The worse affected areas were the bookshop where most textbooks are kept. The assistant headmaster’s office was also not spared. All the computers and files containing vital data on students got damaged.
When the Junior Graphic visited the school last week, Form Four students numbering over 500 were being re-registered for the West African Senior School Certificate (WASSCE) since all the information required by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) for their registration for the exam had been destroyed.
The Assistant Headmaster, Mr Ferguson Barnes, and some National Service personnel were seen taking photographs of the students and capturing other vital personal information.
The team was taken to the bookshop where almost all the textbooks, supplementary readers and other important books were soaked in water. In some of the classrooms which were not affected, a pile of files containing audited reports, information on students, video tapes of national and international programmes the school had participated in and receipt books had all been spread on the floor to dry.
The Senior Boys Prefect, Dolland Jisam-Kelly, and the Senior Girls Prefect, Nasiba Ibrahim, who conducted the Junior Graphic round, said around 1:30 am on Wednesday, one of the students in the girls dormitory who wanted to go to the washroom stepped into a pool of water and started screaming. This attracted the other students who woke up only to realise that it was raining heavily and water was entering the dormitories. “It was almost at our knee level and students were shouting and crying in despair. Some had their shoes, uniforms, books and other important things washed away”, they recalled.
In an interview, the Headmistress, Mrs Gloria Laryea, said the flood could be attributed to the blocking of the only drainage system due to the ongoing construction works on the main road which the contractor had abandoned for sometime.
She lamented that the school had never experienced such a disaster before. “My major concern is the books which have been damaged. It is going to be extremely difficult for the students to study as the textbooks are very crucial for their academic work.”
Mrs Laryea, who explained that currently the auditors were working around the clock to take stock of all the damaged items, appealed to the government, old students and philanthropists to come to the aid of the school.

CSSPS faces more problems

Story: Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah
The problems associated with0 this year’s Computerised Schools Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) do not seem to be over yet.
Despite the directive from the Ghana Education Service(GES) to first-year students to report to their various schools on October 31, some students could not find their names on the noticeboards of the schools in which they had been placed and were therefore turned away.
It will be recalled that the CSSPS Secretariat directed that candidates who were successfully placed should print out their admission letters and raw scores from the Internet using a GES scratch card and send them to their respective senior high schools (SHSs) or technical institutions (TIs).
Some parents complained to the Junior Graphic that although they had printed copies of their children’s admission letters from the CSSPS website as directed, they could not locate their children’s names when they got to the schools.
Mama Jane, for instance, who sent her child to the Benkum SHS in the Eastern Region did not find her daughter’s name on the noticeboard. She said when she enquired from the school authorities, she was told there was nothing the school could do once the name was not on the school’s list.
“I find it so unfortunate, because after taking the risk to travel with my daughter I had to come home without any prospectus. All her friends have gone to school. Therefore, the poor girl keeps crying all day,” she lamented.
The situation was not different at the Labone SHS, Holy Child, Accra Girls SHS, and Apam SHS among others. The Junior Graphic chanced upon some parents at the CSSPS Secretariat and the GES who had gone to these schools without finding their children’s names there.
When the National Co-ordinator of the CSSPS, Mr Samuel Oppong, was contacted by the Junior Graphic, he advised that all affected candidates should go back to the schools in which they had been and insist on their admission because once the child had the printed admission and raw scores, “it means he or she had been formally placed in that school”.
He said he had also received similar complaints and asked those involved to go back to the schools. He explained that the Minister of Education had sent letters to the school heads to adhere to the CSSPS admissions.
“I therefore do not understand why some schools are making things so difficult for parents, prospective students and the secretariat as a whole,” Mr Oppong said.
Some of the heads who would like to remain anonymous explained in an interview that they were going strictly by the names that were given to them by the CSSPS, therefore, parents who did not find the names of their children on the noticeboards should go back to the secretariat and demand answers.
A tour around some of the SHSs showed that majority of the Form One students had reported to their various schools with some undergoing orientation to enable them to familiarise themselves with their chosen programmes and their new schools.

Sylvia defeats deafblindness

Story: Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah, Mampong-Akuapem
A deaf and blind student of the Demonstration School for the Deaf, Mampong-Akuapem in the Eastern Region, Sylvia Peprah, has defied deafness and blindness to become the first-ever such student to qualify for senior high school in the country.
Sylvia, 23, has been placed by the Computerised Schools Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) to continue her education at the Senior High Secondary/Technical School for the Deaf at Mampong-Akuapem.
Despite her disabilities, she devoted time to study and made history by writing the 2011 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) as the first student to sit a national examination since the Deafblind Centre was established in 1978.
At a sitting, Sylvia had grade five in English Language, three in Social Studies, five in Religious and Moral Education and five in Building Design and Technology.
She is currently pursuing a programme in General Arts, focusing on Christian Religious Studies, History, Economics, Social Studies, Integrated Science and English Language. Although Mathematics is a core subject, she has been exempted from it because of challenges she faces in identifying the symbols and formulae which are necessary for calculations.
Deafblindness is the condition of little or no useful sight and little or no useful hearing.
Sylvia, who formally started the Senior High Technical School for the Deaf last Tuesday, was received at the school in a unique and special way during an orientation exercise to introduce her to the students and teachers.
The Junior Graphic was, as usual, by her side to share in her joy, as it does with all children who go through great odds to achieve something tangible as they grow up.
Interestingly, some of the deaf students were touched by Sylvia’s condition and broke down in tears when they were told in sign language that Sylvia could not see nor hear, for which reason they should assist her regularly and also ensure they did not push her around to make things even more difficult for her in the school.
The SHS for the Deaf is mainly for students with hearing disabilities and so the main mode of communication is by sign language, which Sylvia has mastered, although she cannot see.
Since she has lost her sight, Sylvia uses the braille machine and also has a special resource person who interprets and guides her in her studies.
In an interview, Sylvia described herself as the Hellen Keller of the centre (Hellen Keller is the first deafblind to have excelled internationally in education).
Born on September 27, 1988, she became blind at the age of nine after falling ill for a long time. As a result, she can speak but cannot hear.
According to her, “I use tactile sign language, Braille and body printing to communicate.”
She was brought to the Demonstration School for the Deaf at age 13 in 2001 but placed under the Deafblind Centre.
She was later sent to the School for the Blind in 2006 to be taught the academic subjects and the excellent use of the Braille machine.
“Aside this, I have a personal interpreter, Mr Kom Frank Kafui from the centre, who has handled me for the past five years,” she said.
Sylvia is a native of Breman-Asikuma in the Central Region. She has a brother and a mother, Madam Lucy Peprah.
Sylvia says she loves and never misses her banku or fufu meals because they are her favourite. At the moment she teaches Bible Studies to the younger pupils at the school and hopes to be a teacher in future.
She is particularly grateful to Martha M. Majors and Marianne Riggio from the Perkins School for the Blind in the USA for their support throughout her education.

Delete Corporal Punishment

Story: Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah
Majority of stakeholders in education as well as students have proposed that corporal punishment( beating or canning) should be deleted from the school code of conduct.
Hopefully this would put to rest the debate on the call to stop the use of physical punishment in schools.
These findings came out during the presentation of the State of the Corporal Punishment report, a research project undertaken by the Ghana Education Service (GES).
Those in favour of a total abolishment claimed corporal punishment inflicted pain and sometimes injuries on schoolchildren and as a result, some school children dropped out of school while it discouraged others from learning.
Presenting the findings in Accra recently, the Director of the National Centre for Research into Basic Education (NCRIBE), Dr Richard Ofori, said when the question of whether corporal punishment be banned in Ghanaian schools was posed, respondents from junior high school (JHS) Form One and Two were equally split between yes or no.
Those in primary four, five and six, however supported the ban. While parents, teachers and some Circuit Supervisors were also in favour of not banning corporal punishment in schools, he said.
Dr Ofori said when some of the students were asked to state how corporal punishments were meted out to them in school, they disclosed that some teachers usually called them during assembly and gave them strokes of cane on their buttocks, palms, finger tips and head. Others were also put on tables and held down firmly by big boys in the school and canned mercilessly.
For students who were in support, he said the students themselves claimed some of their colleagues were very rude and disrespectful and, therefore, the best way to reform them was to cane them.
Besides, those in favour were of the view that caning sometimes enabled students to stay focused on their studies since no child would want to be humiliated in the presence of the whole school.
During a discussion after the presentation, some stakeholders were also of the view that corporal punishment should not
be banned completely. They explained that there should be a little room for punishment when children go wrong, as that would deter other children from committing similar offences in future.
When the Junior Graphic went round some of the schools to seek their views on the issue, some were totally against it especially, those in the private schools while others were for it. For instance, Judith Amoah Mensah of the Happy Kids School at Awordshie in Accra said corporal punishment should be abolished completely. “If teachers want to punish us for doing the wrong thing they can ask us to write 100 or more lines in an exercise book that ‘we shall not do that again’ rather than treating us like animals” she lamented.
A student of the Ayalolo Junior High School in Accra who remained anonymous was for it explaining that, in their school for instance some students try to fight back at the teachers whenever they go wrong as a result corporal punishments is very good to deter students from stealing, cheating during examination and fighting in school.