An 18-year-old student from Adanwomase Senior High School received a 15-year hard labor sentence from the Circuit Court in Old Tafo, Ashanti Region, after being found guilty of robbing a teacher.
Judge Festus Nukunu imposed the sentence on Gabriel Osei Kwame for his involvement in the robbery of Matilda Boatema, a teacher at Gyaman Pensan Senior High School.
Gabriel confessed to the robbery charge under section 149 of the Criminal and Other Offences Act (Act 29) of 1960. The incident occurred on the morning of March 4, 2024, around 7:30 am when Gabriel assaulted Matilda with a jackknife near her residence in Adanwomase, Ashanti Region.
According to reports by myjoyonline, the SHS student robbed her of her Infinix Hot 9 smartphone valued at GH¢700, cash totaling GH¢570, as well as rice, stew, and some documents. Matilda promptly reported the robbery to the Asonomaso police.
Upon investigation, the complainant’s bag was found abandoned in a nearby bush, although the phone and cash were missing. The police collected evidence from the scene for further inquiry.
On March 25, 2024, Matilda identified Gabriel in the company of a friend in Adanwomaso, leading to his arrest and subsequent handover to the Asonomaso police. Initially, Gabriel denied any involvement in the robbery but later confessed to the police.
According to the police, the accused admitted to robbing the complainant and disclosed that he sold the stolen phone at Adum PZ for GH¢250. State prosecutor, Inspector Alfred Aruk, informed the court that Gabriel was unable to assist the police in recovering the phone.
Following the investigation, he was charged with robbery and brought before the court.
A teacher and volleyball coach in Newfoundland and Labrador who had already been accused of sexual assault and having child pornography is now facing more charges after being arrested again on Monday.
Markus Hicks, 33, is being accused of 155 crimes related to sexual violence against 24 people, according to the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary.
The police arrested Hicks on Monday for the 63 new crimes he is accused of committing against 10 new people who have come forward to report him.
Hicks has been accused more than a hundred times since police asked for information about him in September.
The charges are for doing bad things to children like touching them in a bad way, trying to get them to do bad things, and having bad pictures of them.
The police are looking into a 33-year-old person and found many pictures and videos, some of them from 15 years ago.
Hicks is being accused of making up fake names to talk to kids and grown-ups on the internet. Sometimes, the police say he pretended to be other people using different social media apps like Snapchat, Facebook, and others.
“This file is very big and special,” Const. James Cadigan, who speaks for the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, said.
“As technology gets better, the accused people also change their tactics. ” So, our investigation had to change from what was normal 15 years ago to what is normal now.
The police say that he used these accounts to trick people into meeting him in person. He would use disguises to make sure no one knew who he really was.
“It just proves how someone can lie using these apps,” said Cadigan.
“It’s important to talk to anyone who will use these apps, especially our children, and make sure they know the risks of talking to strangers on these apps. ”
The old teacher has been put in jail in central Newfoundland.
His lawyer told a judge in Newfoundland and Labrador’s Provincial Court that he will probably say he didn’t do some of the things he’s accused of.
The police are still looking into Hicks and they need the public’s help with their investigation.
“We think there are definitely other people who have talked to Hicks on these social media and chat apps,” Cadigan said on Tuesday.
“If you think you have been affected by this, and you don’t want to talk to the RNC, just talk to someone. Remember to take care of yourself and your health. ” “That’s what is most important for this event. “
Eight people, including four basic school pupils and a teacher, are in critical condition after a school building collapsed in the Upper West Akim District of the Eastern Region.
The incident occurred during the Domeabra Zonal Inter-School Sports event on Wednesday, February 14, 2024.
The victims also include three community members who were at the tournament. They are currently receiving treatment at the Adeiso District Hospital, according to reports.
The Zonal Vice Chairman, John Priestly Badu, confirmed the incident, stating that the event was taking place at the Sukrung Awemfi D/A Primary School grounds.
Due to the rain, participants sought shelter in the school building, which is in a dilapidated state. Unfortunately, three classrooms, housing classes one to three, collapsed around 4:30 pm, trapping the victims.
Bystanders managed to rescue them and rushed them to the hospital for medical attention.
The Gyasehene Edward Kotey and Mbrantihene Edem Atiemo have since visited the victims at the health centre.
The teacher who wasn’t named, got stabbed in the back by students at Forest Gate School. He then went to a pharmacy for help. It happened on Tuesday afternoon.
The teacher, who is in his 40s, told the staff that he had only been working at the school for about two weeks when they rushed over to help him.
He said that some of the people who attacked him were wearing school uniforms and he knew some of them, but not all.
Gulzarin Iqbal, who is 27 years old and works as a physician’s assistant at the nearby Lord Lister Health Centre, said he heard people fighting outside and then heard someone scream.
“He said it sounded like a man and some younger people. ”
“Their voices were loud, but I thought it could just be a regular fight – it’s east London after all. ”
“I heard a scream, so I quickly went outside to find out what was going on. ”
At that time, the group had left, but I could still see people in the pharmacy. I ran to the other side of the road and saw a man laying on the ground with his face down.
‘There was a large amount of blood. ‘ or ‘There was a massive bleeding. ‘
A lady who works at Sharman’s Pharmacy and wants to stay anonymous, said: “He came in and asked for help. He said, ‘I’m a teacher at the school and I’ve been stabbed. ‘”
âThere was a lot of blood on the floor. He got a knife in his back.
We called the police and the ambulance right away, and a man from the health center across the street came to assist.
âThe helpers came very quickly and they took him somewhere else. â
Dr Parvesh Patel, a pharmacist at Mansons Pharmacy, said: “I think he thought a pharmacy was the safest place to be. ”
“He said someone stabbed him with a big knife, but I didn’t see it. ”
I quickly put pressure on the cut on his back.
“People can die from bleeding after a stabbing, so it’s always a concern. ” You never know what will happen.
The pharmacy workers called for help, and when the police arrived, I asked them to put pressure on my wound so I could go to the health center for supplies.
My arms had a lot of blood on them.
‘I brought a defibrillator and a heart monitor to keep an eye on his heart just in case. ‘
âThe ambulance came five minutes after that. â
The police said the man’s injuries are not bad enough to threaten his life.
A tragic incident has been reported at Araromi Ilogbo Secondary School in Oko Afo, Lagos, where a teacher allegedly flogged a student to death.
The unfortunate event, which took place on Thursday, resulted in the passing of 16-year-old David Babadipo, who had been reportedly unwell for several days.
Students from Araromi Ilogbo Secondary School organized a protest in response to the news of their peer’s demise, attributing it to excessive flogging by a teacher identified as Mr. Oluwale.
Following the corporal punishment, Babadipo was urgently taken to a nearby hospital, where he was later declared dead.
A video circulating on social media depicted the chaotic scenes at the school, capturing students running in disarray within and outside the premises.
According to a voice in the video, the deceased student was allegedly flogged by Mr. Oluwale when attempting to leave the school premises for a purchase.
“First and foremost, Mr Oluwale is a Vice Principal and he didn’t beat him for not paying attention in class because he doesn’t teach, he didn’t even beat him at all.
“That child has (sic) been sick since Tuesday and the parent didn’t take him to the hospital. It got worse yesterday afternoon after the break and they called his parent to come to pick him up,” she wrote.
Adding to the conflicting accounts, another Facebook user Bangose Jide posted; “Teacher beat David Babadipo, 16-year-old to death at Araromi-Ilogbo Senior Secondary School, Oko-Afo. The teacher is named Mr Olawale, a vice principal.”
Another social media user, Mama Sassy D, posted; “This is my vicinity. They have started rioting already. The said teacher might not survive this period.”
However, conflicting reports surfaced, with a Facebook user named Esther Wusu contesting the claim that the student was flogged to death.
Wusu stated that Mr. Oluwale was the school’s vice principal, did not administer any punishment, and clarified that Babadipo had been unwell since Tuesday. The worsening condition prompted a call to his parents for immediate pick-up.
Despite these conflicting accounts, another Facebook user, Bangose Jide, asserted that Mr. Olawale, a vice principal, beat David Babadipo to death at Araromi-Ilogbo Senior Secondary School. The situation escalated on social media, with Mama Sassy D reporting ongoing riots in the vicinity and expressing concern for the teacher’s safety during this period.
A Ghanaian man residing in Canada has shared his remarkable journey, recounting how he took a significant risk by obtaining a bank loan of 20,000 cedis while working as a teacher in Ghana.
He used the loan secured to apply to schools in Canada, marking a pivotal decision that would change the course of his life.
In his account shared by X user, @eddie_wrt, the Ghanaian noted that he risked it all in order to get out of the country in 2019. Per his narration, the process of leaving the country did not work as expected when the Canadian authority found a fraudulent document.
“During that time, I could only take a loan worth GHC20,000. I used that to apply for a school in Canada. I then went to compete my visa process. It was a gentleman who forged a bank statement for me.
“Within three weeks, the officials said they had found something fraudulent in my document so I should provide a different bank statement. I had already paid the guy who got me the fake bank statement. I then told him the issue. He took another cash and did another statement for me. My application was pending for a year,” he recounted.
For a year, he noted that he had been living on GHC800 as his pay had been cut in half to allow him to pay back the loan. He noted that he was also paying exorbitant fees at Valley View University, where he was studying.
“My half of my pay was being subtracted during that period. I was taking about GH1300 then but was being paid GH800 for a year.
It wasn’t easy. I was also schooling at Valley View. So just imagine. The fees I had to pay there.”
Despite these concerns, this teacher currently abroad says he managed to make it and in the video, he made mention of snow as some sort of indication of his achievement. In the lens of the phone’s camera was a house behind him. It is unknown if it belongs to him or not.
He did not indicate how his stay in Canada took off or if there were any challenges. He boasted of his current situation and entreated his fellow teachers in Ghana who wish to come abroad to take risks.
“Sometimes, when I hear teachers say they don’t have enough funds to travel abroad, I tend to laugh. 2019, when I wanted to travel abroad, I didn’t have a pesewa but since I was determined, I went for a loan. In this life, we take risks. If it works for you, then you are good to go, if it does not, you try again.”
This video comes at a time when Ghana is experiencing mass exodus of teachers, nurses, among others. Government says it is working to address the challenges that poses a threat to healthcare delivery in the country as well as the country’s education sector.
The Tarkwa circuit court sentenced a 20-year-old teacher named Jephtah Agyarko to 12 years of hard labor for defiling a student in his class.
Agyarko initially pleaded guilty to the charge of defilement during his first court appearance, and the presiding judge, Hathia Ama Manu, postponed the sentencing.
According to Chief Inspector Joseph Lartey, who was prosecuting the case, the complainant is a farmer residing in Tetrem, within the Tarkwa-Nsuaem municipality, and she lives with her 14-year-old daughter, the victim. The convict, Agyarko, was the former class teacher of the victim and also attended the same church as the victim’s family.
On June 23, 2023, after school had ended for the day, the convict deliberately asked the victim if she planned to attend the watch night service, which their church was organizing for the same evening.
Chief Inspector Lartey explained that the victim, out of ignorance, informed Agyarko that she wouldn’t be attending but was certain that her parents would be present at the service.
Prosecution further detailed that on that same evening, at around 8:00 PM, the victim was alone at home when she heard a knock at the door. She went to answer it and was shocked to find the convict standing outside their main gate.
According to Chief Inspector Lartey, when the victim questioned the purpose of Agyarko’s presence in her house at such a late hour, he claimed to have come to visit someone in Tetrem and decided to check on her.
Taking advantage of the situation, Agyarko was able to convince the victim to let him into their living room, where he forcibly engaged in sexual intercourse with her.
Overwhelmed by fear of potential punishment from her parents, the victim chose not to disclose the incident to them and kept it a secret.
Chief Inspector Lartey explained that the victim, feeling upset and disappointed by Agyarko’s actions, attempted to convey her emotions through a letter. Unfortunately, the headmaster of the school got hold of this letter.
The court learned that on August 13, 2023, the headmaster, in collaboration with Agyarko, brought the matter to the attention of the victim’s parents.
On August 18, 2023, a formal report was made to the police, leading to the subsequent arrest of the accused. During the course of the investigation, Agyarko admitted to the offense in his statement, as confirmed by Chief Inspector Lartey.
Three years ago, Abigail Babatunde struggled to read her schoolwork and frequently required the assistance of her teachers to correctly enunciate difficult words.
The working-class Lagos suburb of Ejigbo’s 11-year-old public school student, who is currently in primary six, reads them alone at home. She now reads books about friendship and adventure on a regular basis as well.
Eniola Akanbi, her class teacher, claims that Babatunde, who wants to be a doctor, is also more active in class. “Now, she [Babatunde] would jump up whenever I asked for a volunteer to come up to read to the classroom,” she said.
“Reading improves my mood,” Babatunde, who wants to be a medical doctor, said. [And] when a teacher asks a question in class, I’m able to respond because I’ve read the day before. While I’m walking along the street, I occasionally read the signboard.”
The narrative underwent a transformation following the introduction of a new classroom library in January 2022.
The classroom library takes the form of a bookshelf crafted from repurposed fabric that hangs from a nail on the classroom wall. Resembling a hanging shoe rack but slightly larger, it features between seven to 10 compartments. Each compartment houses a collection of three to five books of varying dimensions. These books are meticulously organized in a vertical arrangement, with their placement determined by size, descending from largest to smallest.
The inception of these bookshelves is credited to The Hanging Library, an initiative established by The Neo-Child Initiative. This volunteer group is dedicated to providing mentorship, literacy support, free medical services, and medication to children residing in low-income neighborhoods. With an impressive roster of nearly 300 committed volunteers, the initiative is chiefly financed through a book donation campaign and contributions from family, friends, and volunteers.
Currently, there are a total of 50 libraries and over 5,000 books spanning academic textbooks to engaging stories. These libraries are distributed across Abuja, the federal capital, as well as various cities within six states.
The initiative is funded mainly through a book drive and contributions from family, friends, and volunteers. There are now 50 libraries and more than 5,000 books from academic textbooks to story books, across Abuja, the federal capital, and cities in six states.
Two pupils read in front of the hanging library at a school in Lagos [Muhammed Bello/Al Jazeera]
Closing the gap
According to a UNESCO 2022 assessment, there are more than 20 million youngsters in the nation who are not in school. However, due to inadequate funding for public schools and limited access to basic resources for students who are still in school, Nigeria’s basic education has suffered.
An estimated two-thirds of Nigerians are literate at a basic level since education is free at that level. But this January, Cristian Munduate, UNICEF’s Nigeria representative claimed that “75 per cent of children aged seven-to-14 years cannot read a simple sentence or solve a basic math problem”.
Seyi Bolaji, founder of Kaduna-based Project Educate A Child (ProjectEAC) campaign, thinks these numbers are a conservative estimate.
“The 20 million are those that are counted, what about those that are not counted … because people are still giving birth and they do not care whether these children go to school or not,” said Bolaji.
“Also too much energy is being given to out-of-school children while the ones in school are planning to leave school because the standard of education is declining,” she added. “When those in school are still unable to read and write, what is the point?”
The void that The Hanging Library, initially established in 2017 in Lagos, aims to bridge.
During his obligatory one-year national service in Lagos, Yusuf Shittu, the founder of TNCI, would routinely commute past Babatunde’s school on his way to work. On a particular day, he observed the absence of a physical library or an organized space for book storage within the expansive school complex, spanning seven buildings.
Having been nurtured with a fondness for reading newspapers from an early age by his father, Yusuf Shittu was motivated to pass on his passion for books. He expressed to Al Jazeera that this initiative provides an opportunity to positively shape an entire generation.
This perspective has garnered support from experts in the field.
“It’s an innovative solution to a deep problem in our society,” said Kemi Ogunsanya, a project manager at Lagos-based online hub TeacherX Project. “A lot of factors and lack of reading materials is one of the causes of the declining rate of reading culture. A lot of schools don’t have libraries and are only left with just bare classrooms.”
More than half of Nigeria’s estimated 200 million people live on less than $2 daily, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. For many of them, their meagre wages can barely afford enough food, much less books for their children.
“You can’t give what you don’t have,” said Bolaji. “There are some families who have not eaten for days, telling them to invest in buying textbooks for their children will make one look stupid.”
The hanging libraries can help children from low-income households at schools improve their grades and have a broadened worldview, said Ogunsanya.
“A reader is a leader,” she said. “A reader will always have an expanded mindset, and all of this will often affect academic progression.
One of the coordinators of The Hanging Library initiative visits a school in Lagos after the installation of a library [Muhammed Bello/Al Jazeera]
A life-changer
But more needs to be done with initiatives like this, experts said, to target not just children in the classroom but also out-of-school children. “The school is only a building, a child can learn anywhere,” Bolaji said. “We can get this mobile library to them [street kids] and teach them how to read and write.”
According to Shittu, there are plans to expand it to additional communities in other states and develop a plan to replace ripped and missing books but there are financial and logistical challenges to resolve in order to make that happen.
For Babatunde, who lives with her father and lone caregiver, a butcher by day and security guard by night, the library has been a life-changer. By day, she chooses any book available at the library to aid her in her assignment because she is not allowed to take books out of the school.
Often, her book of choice is Without a Silver Spoon, by Eddie Iroh, the story of a boy born into poverty, who is wrongly accused of theft in the household where he works as a domestic help to pay his school fees.
During the daily 15-minute free periods for her class, Babatunde rushes to the hanging library beside the chalkboard, almost breaking into a run to get it, before anyone else does. And on her way back to her seat, she is already flipping through the pages, reading.
The Ministry of Education has issued a caution to teachers who pay unapproved fees to directors of education and supervisors to facilitate their promotions.
Speaking to the media, the ministry’s PRO, Kwesi Kwarteng, stated that an investigation will be launched to examine the conduct of education officers who have been demanding fees from teachers to facilitate their promotions.
Reports have emerged that some teachers have been asked to pay GH¢200 ahead of the upcoming teacher promotion exercise.
According to reports, teachers are expected to hand over the money in a white envelope to their respective head teachers, who will then pass it on to the GES promotion supervisors.
The promotion supervision is set to commence next week, and it is anticipated that over a hundred teachers will be required to make the payment to be eligible for promotion.
Mr. Kwarteng emphasized that no teacher should be subjected to paying such unauthorized fees.
An officer of the Ghana Education Service (GES) reportedly recommended teachers to apply for loans to buy computers to teach their children, shocking the group of educators who had come for a session on innovative methods of teaching several topics, including Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
This comment from the GES official reportedly came up when teachers attended a session on new ways to teach ICT in schools, according to a former ICT teacher at the Akrofuom District Assembly Primary School in the Ashanti Region.
On Tuesday, July 18, 2023, Teacher Kwadwo, a guest on the Kokoase portion of the Angel Morning Show, claimed that because their classrooms lacked computers, his fellow educators insisted on knowing how to teach the course.
“That was when the GES officer at the workshop replied that we can go for loans to buy at least one laptop to teach the kids.…,” Teacher Kwadwo said.
A shocked Teacher Kwadwo who was also present at the workshop asked whether the GES official was indeed serious with his comment to which he responded “Don’t we even go for loans to acquire plots of land…?”
This and other factors, according to Teacher Kwadwo, helped him organize a movement to save the country’s education system.
However, he was expelled in December 2021 for taking a total of 55 unapproved absences from the classroom.
A collaborative effort between the GNAT-Canada Teachers Federation and the FCE, has provided approximately 200 teachers from the Western and Western North Regions the opportunity to complete an in-service training programme.
The aim of the training was to enhance their abilities to deliver more effectively within the classroom setting.
During the training, the teachers received instruction in various subject areas, including class management, gender and culture, technology education, and inclusiveness.
The program coordinator, Mr. Ernest Asamoah, highlighted the longstanding partnership between GNAT-Canada, spanning an impressive 63 years of successful engagement and knowledge exchange.
He urged all teachers to utilize the acquired knowledge and share it with their colleagues, thereby contributing to the enhancement of quality education in their schools.
Furthermore, Mr. Asamoah emphasized that the training would provide the participating teachers with two additional points in their yearly assessment program, underscoring the importance of continuous professional development.
The Team Lead for Canada, Ms. Julia Degirolamo, recognized the significance of international projects as valuable tools for exchanging ideas and furthering global education objectives.
She, therefore, entreated the participants to use the new skills acquired to innovate change in the classroom…” leadership roles must well be seen from now”.
Mrs Sally Nelly Coleman, the Metro Director of Education praised GNAT for such projects and programmes which equipped the teacher to live up to his or her best.
She noted how the GNAT had contributed to her professional development and growth and encouraged the teachers to effectively take part in all its activities to improve their course.
Authorities believe a school teacher who was attacked by a shark while surfing on Saturday is dead. They have discovered wetsuit fragments and what they believe to be the teacher’s surfboard.
On Saturday, Walkers Rock Beach on South Australia’s west coast received a call from emergency services reporting a shark attack, according to a statement from the local police force.
Simon Baccanello, a 46-year-old teacher at the nearby Elliston Area School, has been recognised by local CNN stations but has not yet been officially identified by authorities.
Police said in a statement Monday that they had recovered “two items of interests in relation to the search for a missing surfer, presumed dead after a shark attack.”
One of them appears to be a piece of wetsuit material, while the other item is believed to be some small pieces of white polystyrene possibly from the surfboard, said police, who are sending the items to be forensically analyzed.
Trevlyn Smith, a unit manager from SES, previously told CNN affiliate 9 News that the remains of the surfboard they retrieved showed “one bite mark.”
After consulting with Baccanello’s family, emergency services said they would continue to search the area and surrounding beaches in the coming days after high tide.
His family issued a statement saying his death was a “tragic loss,” according to 9 News.
Baccanello started his stint at the Elliston Area School in January, according to his LinkedIn profile.
“He had a real keenness with his students to make them feel good to build those relationships with the students,” the school’s principal Chad Fleming told 9 News.
Pulteney Grammar School – where Baccanello taught in Adelaide between 2007 and 2009, and then 2022 – also issued a statement on Facebook.
“He is well remembered by the School community as a fine teacher, a generous friend and a genuine, authentic human being,” the statement said.
Shark attacks are relatively rare off South Australia – according to the Australian Shark Incident Database, there were 20 shark encounters in 2022, resulting in 14 injuries and one death.
South Australia only contributed one case that did not involve any injury.
In February earlier this year, a 16-year-old girl was killed by a shark while swimming in a river in Perth, Western Australia.
A National Service Person teaching at Sehwi Asawinso Methodist Primary B in the Sehwi Wiawso Municipality of the Western North Region has been arrested for allegedly defiling three of his students.
The suspect, Bismark Ansu, has been remanded into police custody by the Bibiani Circuit Court and is to reappear before the court on 29th May 2023.
He has been charged with three offenses; i) threat of death contrary to section 75 of the criminal offences 1960 [ACT 29], ii) defilement contrary to section 101 of criminal offences 1960 [ACT 29], and iii) threat of harm contrary to section 74 of the criminal offences 1960 [ACT 29].
Per reports from the court, Bismark reportedly managed to defile the minors in January 2023 in his house while holding extra classes to ensure he completes the syllabus.
This initiative is said to have not been approved by the school authorities.
It was only after the victims between the age of 8 and 9 started complaining of abnormal blood discharges that the alleged action came to light.
According to reports, the students kept silence in fear of losing their lives.
Following this, a report was made to the police at Sehwi Asawinso and a medical form was issued to the complainants to take the victims to any government hospital for examination, treatment, and endorsement, all of which corroborated the defilement claims.
The accused person was subsequently arrested. Meanwhile, the victims are responding to treatment.
Here is a story of a teacher who provides free uniform sowing services for students in need.
Janet Asibi is a 25-year-old Ghanaian professional teacher at Aboabo Presby Primary School at Akim Oda in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
She is passionate about seeing every child in school, hence does not want lack of school uniform to be a hindrance.
Affectionately known as “Ama Val the Sewing Teacher”, she uses her own money and seeks the assistance of friends and family to knit new school uniforms for children in need.
Janet learned how to use the sewing machine at a young age, and has used her skills to mend and make free uniforms for pupils since 2019.
“Seeing these young people, whom we refer to as potential leaders walk to school in ripped clothes compelled me to use my sewing skills,” she told Melvin Da Enigma on Luv FM’s DriveTime Show.
Janet has stitched uniforms for pupils in several local schools and wants to take her effort nationwide.
In some days, she could stitch over 50 uniforms for a school.
“I will continue with this initiative until my last breath. It all started when I was posted to Nsoatre in the Bono Region for my teaching practice. When I reached the school, I realized that some students come to school with torn uniforms and others too with no uniforms at all.
“And it was having an effect on their education, so I took it upon myself to get a sewing machine and start to stitch out the worn out uniforms. So those who were coming to school with torn uniforms, I started stitching and patching it for them.
“Moving along the line, I realized that it was helping them, those who would have stayed in the house then will be going to school,” Janet said.
She believes solving the challenges faced in the education sector is everyone’s responsibility.
A school uniform for a girl costs an average of GHȼ65.
Janet ‘Ama Val the Sewing Teacher’ collaborates with, and pays another seamstress to effectively accomplish her task.
She plans her day to ensure her volunteering activity does not affect her teaching obligations.
Her goal is to expand her “One Student, One School Uniform” program to cover more pupils in Ghana.
A Ghanaian teacher has sparked massive reactions online after a video of him eating food meant for his students during the ‘Our Day’ celebration went viral.
The video sighted on the TikTok handle of @chuckstar17 showed the moment when the male teacher had bent down to scoop spaghetti from the bowl of a little girl.
Unperturbed by the little girl’s surprised reaction, the teacher ate the food as if he had given prior notice to the students about his intentions for the Our Day celebrations.
His facial expression changed when he realized he was being filmed unawares, and he even tried to turn away from the camera.
At the time of writing the report, the 9-second video had sparked over 27,000 likes and 900 comments.
After a 30 percent raise in the Single Spine Salary Structurefor public sector employees, teachers and staff at the Ghana Education Service (GES) have seen a boost in their basic salary.
This increment took effect from January 1, 2023, and also includes a 15 percent market premium which the government has also agreed to for all teachers and other public sector workers.
The 30 percent is the biggest increment organised labour has secured out of negotiations with the government since 2010 when the government increased the base pay by 20 percent and again by the same margin in 2011.
Since the current administration came to power in 2017, the highest increment has been 12 percent, which was secured in 2017.
The latest increment means the lowest-paid teacher takes home a net salary of GH¢434.01 while the highest-paid teacher takes home a net salary of GH¢8,271.95.
A 43-year-old Ugandan teacher and her suspected accomplice are still being held despite coming forward to Jinja police over the weekend.
Uganda’s colonial-era laws against same-sex relationships have been strengthened by more modern anti-homosexuality legislation, the most recent of which is now being developed by parliament.
On Friday, parents of students at PMM Girls school stormed the building demanding to withdraw their children, amid online allegations accusing a teacher there of promoting same-sex relations.
Kiira Region Police Spokesman James Mubi told the BBC that the teacher is being investigated over sexual harassment allegations. Her alleged partner is a 30-year-old who is neither a student of the school nor was living there.
He also said there have been no complaints from the students so far against the teacher but it was necessary to keep holding her as well as her alleged partner for their own safety.
Over a week ago, muslims in Jinja and other parts of the country heeded a call by the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council to protest against what they say is a rise in the promotion of same-sex relations in the country.
LGBTQ rights campaigner Frank Mugisha warned at the time that Uganda could see an increase in the targeting of people in same-sex relations in villages and communities.
A teacher who was wrongfully imprisoned for defiling a student has recounted his ordeal.
According to Maxwell Benneh, the terrible incident happened while he was working as a teacher in Takoradi, in the Western Region.
He had only been attending the school for one month when he was dragged to the police station early one morning while preparing for the end-of-term exam.
His seven-month struggle reached a breaking point when it was learned at the police station that a defilement complaint had been lodged against him.
Maxwell Benneh claims that after entering a not guilty plea at trial, the matter dragged on for seven months with him in custody.
“A month into my arrival in the school, we were getting ready for exams so I had submitted the questions for the exam. I was in the office when two ladies and a guy came ordering me to get into a waiting taxi to the police station. When we got to the station, they told me I had defiled one of the students.
“It wasn’t true because I had just arrived at the school and didn’t know a lot about the children. This particular girl was in class five and I was handling primary 4. I knew her face but didn’t know her name. The story was sent to DOVVSU and we went to court. It happened in 2015. I was charged with defilement and I pleaded not guilty. The trial took seven months and I was on remand throughout the period. She claims I defiled her in the school’s urinal during extra class hours,” he narrated to Takoradi-based Connect FM.
Maxwell Benneh was sentenced to twenty imprisonment despite being innocent of the charges.
“The judgement came in July 2016 and the court handed me a 20-year sentence. I raised my hand and told the judge that it is not true but the judge said that I could appeal. I don’t know why the judge sentenced me. I was lucky to have the proceedings of the Circuit Court,” he said.
Six years into his 20-year jail term, he successfully appealed the sentence through private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu at the Sekondi High Court.
His application was upheld and he was released from prison. He is grateful to God and Martin Kpebu who he says trusted him to fight his case for him.
“I was in Nsawam for some time. There was a CID officer who was not happy with the whole thing. I had a lady friend and I told her to send my document to Martin Kpebu. I knew Kpebu from the media and I felt he was a good lawyer. I told him that I was innocent and wanted him to challenge the case. By the time I got to find Kpebu I had already spent six years. The High Court ruled that I was innocent and that I should have never been jailed,” he said.
He served a word of advice to all men and asked them to be careful with passing sexually suggestive remarks about the ladies in the form of jokes.
The 2022 National Best Outstanding Teacher, Stella Gyimaah Larbi, has revealed that her passion to become a teacher started in Senior High School (SHS).
She said through a literature teacher at her alma mater, Bentum SHS, she developed a love for the profession.
“Awo Dede [her literature teacher] was a whole mood, she would always put herself so much into the subject she taught and the passion was there,” Stella Larbi told the Independent Ghana, describing her teacher as very passionate on the job.
She eventually fell in love with the literature subject, saying it allows students to express themselves and their thoughts on particular issues of discussion without restrictions.
“I admired everything about Awo Dede, from her outlook, from the way she presented herself to the way she taught, to the way she interacted.
I said to myself; ‘I want to be like her, I want to be a teacher’”, Stella added amid smiles as she could not hide her joy.
Although she had wanted to be a lawyer or a journalist, Stella Gyimaah Larbi underscored that she has no regrets about ending up as a teacher in the classroom.
She stated that all the experience she has gathered in her 12 years of teaching and the skills she acquired at the training school, have toughened her to be better at what she does.
“Based on these experiences, they help me instil discipline in the the students I teach. So, if you ask my students, they always say I am hard on them.”
Her greatest motivation as a teacher is the satisfying desire to impact the lives of her students.
“When I wake up every morning to come to school, I am excited because it’s another opportunity to inspire somebody to pursue greatness.
At times, I can’t help but laugh when I look at the facial expressions of my students; they make me happy. My students are my daily drive,” she added.
Background
Stella Gyimah Larbi is a teacher at the Adentan Community Junior High School in the Greater Accra Region.
She was crowned the Best Teacher at the National Teachers Day in Tamale on October 7, 2022
For her prize, she received a three-bedroom house worth GH¢300,000, an educational trip to Dubai, a promotion in return, and a Ghana Education Trust Fund scholarship to study abroad.
34 years old Stella Gyimah Larbi was born in Akwatia in the Eastern Region and began her basic education at Akwatia Church of Christ.
Stella is a product of Benkum Senior High School, she gained admission to the teacher training college (the Presbyterian Women’s College of Education) for her training. She was posted to the Nana Akobea Takyiwaa School at Mampong Akuapem in the Eastern after her graduation.
She pursued a degree course at the University of Education after attaining a diploma at the college.
Stella Gyimah then went to the University of Ghana where she pursued for a Master’s in the Teaching of English as a Second Language and proceeded to the University of Education, Winneba, where she earned an MPhil.
Augustine Owusu Mensah, a science teacher at St. Matthias R/C JHS, New Takoradi, has invented a humanoid robot to enhance teaching and learning in his community.
St. Matthias R/C JHS is located in Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly in the Western Region of Ghana.
Augustine used ordinary materials such as pieces of wood, metals, and some parts of spoiled computers and wires to build this human-like robot. He gathered these materials with his students and built the machine in three weeks. This is interesting and smart.
The most astounding part is that the robot can answer any question provided the question is answerable. It can be used to solve mathematical problems, science, English, Social Studies and many more. Also, it can be used in quiz competitions such as spelling bees, Mathematics, Science and the like. It is highly powerful.
With this, teachers, professors, scientists, students, companies, sports analysts, doctors etc can use the robot in their research. The robot is able to communicate with humans perfectly and also solve vital problems.
Augustine uses this intelligent robot to teach. This makes his lessons very enthusiastic and captivating. Indeed, this science teacher is taking Ghana education to a new level through science and technology. Ghana and Africa will be extremely proud of this great achievement. Check out his video.
Jessica Lawson,12, drowned after becoming trapped when a pontoon capsized on a school trip to Limoges in July 2015.
French prosecutors have said British teachers responsible for looking after a 12-year-old girl who drowned on a school trip should be jailed for three years.
Steven Layne, Chantelle Lewis, and Daisy Stathers, from Wolfreton School in Willerby, near Hull, are accused of the French equivalent of manslaughter by gross negligence following the death of Jessica Lawson in July 2015.
The schoolgirl, the youngest child on the trip, became trapped after a pontoon capsized in a lake near the city of Limoges.
Image:Teacher Steven Layne
A trial at the Palais de Justice in the French town of Tulle heard how Ms Lewis and Ms Stathers began to “panic” after noticing Jessica was missing, with both becoming emotional on the witness stand during Tuesday’s proceedings.
Mr Layne said he thought the pontoon was a safety feature and saw no signs of distresswhen he looked at the lifeguard after it capsized.
Image: Teacher Daisy Stathers
The youngster’s mother, Brenda Lawson, told the court she expected the teachers to have “respect and integrity” during the trial.
During her closing speech, prosecutor Myriam Soria told the head of the jurisdiction in Tulle, Marie-Sophie Waguette, she recommends three years’ jail time for the three teachers and the lifeguard Leo Lemaire.
Ms Soria also advised Ms Waguette that the local authority in the town of Liginiac should be fined €45,000 (£39,230) for its alleged part in Jessica’s death.
In her speech, the prosecutor said: “Jessica Lawson was a good swimmer. She was a little girl.
Ms Soria said none of the teachers could see where Jessica was during the swim due to a lack of surveillance.
Addressing the pontoon itself, the prosecutor said the local authority “knew about instability and knew about its age.”
Jessica’s parents, who have followed proceedings through an interpreter, will find out whether the teachers are guilty on Wednesday.
The Ghana Education Service must think of reintroducing corporal punishment to instill discipline in most schools across the country, President of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) Phillipa Larson has stated.
Speaking on Morning Starr, Madam Larson said the behaviour of some candidates in the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is a clear indication that the Ghana Education Service must reconsider the ban on corporal punishments in schools.
“I think that as a country we should look at corporal punishment and bring it back in a way,†Madam Larson told sit-in host Lantam Papanko Monday morning on Starr 103.5FM.
GES in 2017 officially banned all forms of corporal punishment of children in schools in Ghana as part of efforts aimed at promoting a safe and protective learning environment for children.
The GES directed in January 2019 that a Positive Discipline Toolkit which gives alternatives to corporal punishments be adopted by all teachers.
On Friday, the GES dismissed some 14 final year students who are believed to have caused chaos and destroyed properties in their respective schools in the wake of the ongoing WASSCE.
The GES in a statement said the action is to serve as deterrent for other students who are still partaking in the exams.
President Akufo-Addo on Sunday appealed to the Ghana Education Service to reconsider the decision to ban some 14 students from writing the ongoing WASSCE following their involvement in the recent chaos in their schools.
In a statement Sunday, the President directed the Education Minister to intervene in order to ensure that the students are made to write the exams. The statement, however, noted the dismissal and other punishment meted to them must stand.
Jose’s glorious temple shares a post of an SHS 3 student who decided to propose love to his attractive English teacher. During a class assignment, he slipped a love letter at a page of his assignment exercise book. He had already informed his friends of the acts and everyone was waiting for the reaction of the teacher. At home while working on the students assignment, she saw the letter of which she also read.
The next day at school she shared the exercise to the student. The boy got 17/20. but she didn’t give him his copy she’s simply ordered him to follow her to the teachers room. All his friends concluded that it was over for him because the disciplinary council would be waiting for him.
The most surprising thing was that when they arrive at the teachers room the teacher ….
Here is screenshots of Jose’s story …
Disclaimer : “Opinions expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and do not in any way reflect those of tigpost.co. Our outfit will hereby not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article.â€
The Ministry of Education has deleted certain portions of the Pre-Tertiary Education Bill.
The deleted sections have to do with the decentralization of the education service.
The coalition of unions under the Ghana Education Service (GES) resisted the new Pre-Tertiary Bill due to the lack of consultation among others.
According to the teacher unions, the Bill only seeks to give more appointing powers to the political class to the detriment of quality education and the welfare of teachers.
They vowed to reject the Bill which they fear will see basic schools, Senior High Schools and Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) being managed by the District Assemblies, Regional Education Directorate and a Director-General independent of the Ghana Education Service.
A statement from the Ghana Education Service said the decision was taken after a meeting with the various unions within the education sector.
Citi News reports that a letter signed by the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Prof. Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, stated that “After a meeting with representatives of the unions in Education on Wednesday 20th May 2020, I am directed by the Hon. Minister of Education to inform you that the Ministry upon reflection has decided to delete the sections which deal with decentralization of the Education Service namely; sections 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 and 37 of the proposed Pre-Tertiary Bill.â€
According to the Ghana Education Service, the portions deleted “is to ensure that other very important aspects of the Bill can then be proceeded with at Parliament to ensure the final passage of the Bill into law.â€
18,475 teachers who sat for the maiden Promotion Aptitude Test on February 20 and 21, 2020, have been promoted.
The teachers were promoted by the Ghana Education Service (GES) to various grades within the service.
The positions for which the teaching staff were interviewed were Deputy Director, Assistant Deputy Director I, Assistant Deputy Director II, and Principal Superintendent.
In the Deputy Director grade, 2,336 candidates took the test, out of which 1,140, representing 48.8 percent, were successful.
For the Assistant Director, I grade, 7,170 took the test, with 4,709 (65.7 percent) being successful, while 10,860 (59.5 percent) out of the 18,238 candidates who wrote the promotion test for the grade of Assistant Director II passed.
The Director-General of the GES, Prof. Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, said for the Principal Superintendent grade, 1,766 candidates, representing 69.6 percent of the 2,536 who wrote the test, were successful.
He said “Formal promotion letters will be released in due course. Results for the non-teaching staff will also be released soon.”
The Pre-Tertiary Education Bill, if passed in its current state, will present dangerous consequences to education management as well as inhibit professional development of teachers in the country, teacher unions in the Northern Region have cautioned.
A statement read at a joint-press conference by the teacher unions in Tamale on Tuesday said the Pre-Tertiary Education Bill, if passed in its current form, might result in poor management of the education sector since some District Assemblies did not have the wherewithal to prosecute the tasks assigned them under the Bill.
The statement was signed by the Northern Regional Chairmen and their Secretaries of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Coalition of Concerned Teachers, Ghana, and the National Association of Graduate Teachers as well as the Northern Regional Industrial Relations Officer of the Teachers and Educational Workers Union.
Mr Atta Longiya, Northern Regional Chairman of GNAT, who read the statement, mentioned portions of the Bill saying, they sought to cede effective responsibility for the provision and management of basic schools to District Assemblies, put the Management of senior high schools to the Regional Education Directorate, and separate Technical and Vocational Education and Training to be managed by a Director General independent of the Ghana Education Service (GES).
Parliament is currently considering three Bills on Pre-Tertiary Education (2019).
Under section 32(3) of the Bill, the Head of the Local Government Service will be appointing heads and staff of the District Education Unit as well as be responsible for promotion, transfer, discipline and dismissal of staff of the District Education Unit.
Under section 32(4) of the Bill, inter-district transfer of a head teacher or staff of a basic school can only be undertaken by the Head of the Local Government Service whilst section 25(2) and 26(2) of the Bill stipulated that the President of the Republic shall be appointing Regional Directors and their Deputies and determining their terms and conditions of service.
Also, according to section 30(1c) of the Bill, the preparation, administration and control of budgetary allocations of the basic schools shall be determined by the District Assembly.
Mr Longiya said “If this Bill is allowed to go through in its current state, it has the tendency to break the unified educational arrangement we have now. It also has the potential of distorting the Unified Conditions of Service we are using now as the various District Assemblies will develop their independent Conditions of Service, which may not be in the best interest of our members.â€
He said the Bill would not only open the education sector to political abuse but would be dangerous to education, adding, “It has the tendency of destroying the very fabric of the management arrangement of GES in the country.
He said “We are in Ghana and we know what politicians can do and we will not allow them to toy with the future of our children,†adding, “We would therefore, resist the passage of this Bill in its current form with all our legitimate might and strength as teachers.â€
He reiterated that “We are reechoing the call by our National Leadership for the suspension of the Pre-Tertiary Education Bill for further and deeper stakeholder consultation.â€
Teacher trainees undertaking their national service in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region have vowed to resist efforts by the Ghana Education Service and the National Service Secretariat to repost them to adjoining communities.
The teachers say the attempt to repost them after two months of settling in the Hohoe municipality without any compensation will inconvenience them since they may have to now look for new apartments and incur extra cost in renting.
The Hohoe Municipal President of the National Service Personnel Association (NASPA), Gordon Awuku told Citi News the leadership of the Association will not allow its members to be treated unfairly.
“When you listen to GES, they have not been able to make any convincing argument over this issue. They called a meeting yesterday. When we went, the NSS director for the district introduced the subject that this is the reason why they are leaving. Because we all agreed that when you are reposting someone, it comes with challenges.
“This clearly shows that they are not prepared to carry out this [service]. And as a leader, I told them if I allow my people to be treated this way, it means they are going to suffer. How much is national service allowance to warrant them suffering like this?†he asked.
Meanwhile, the Volta Regional Director of the National Service Scheme, Ambrose Entsiwa Junior said no such thing as compensation exists for reposting under the scheme.
The scheme reserves the right to repost service personnel depending on their relevance to the user agencies and the country at large.
“These are general concerns. I am not aware of any compensation package as far as national service postings and repostings are concerned. It is important to understand that we post national service personnel based on a number of issues.â€
Background
The National Service Scheme released about 14,000 pin codes to get trainee teachers across the country to undertake a compulsory one-year national service before being employed by the government in 2018.
This new directive from the government stipulated that newly trained teachers will undertake their service after writing the Teacher Licensure Examinations.
The Director of Public Affairs at NSS, David Prah, explained that the one-year national service for teachers was mandatory by law because the teacher trainee colleges had assumed tertiary status and award diploma certificates.
Groups disagree
But the trainee teachers were opposed to the decision.
A group calling itself Teachers and Trainees Advocacy (TTA), described the new directive as “heartbreaking†and “disrespectful.â€
Hundreds of unemployed teachers also partook in a demonstration to protest the directive from the government. They refused to adhere to the order.
But later on, the agitated teachers had a change of mind on the issue.
The Minister of Education, Matthew Opoku Prempeh announced that it had reached an agreement with the teacher trainees for them to be posted as national service personnel.
According to him, about 16,000 of the trainee teachers had already registered with the National Service Secretariat.
“I met with the Coalition of Newly Trained Teachers and the Teacher Trainee Association of Ghana, and they went and met with the GES and finally signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to do the national service,†he explained.
A teacher at Crystal Heights International School at Amasaman, on Friday, 21 February 2020, allegedly beat a 4-year-old kindergarten pupil with a mop stick until the little boy collapsed.
The teacher got enraged after the little boy vomited while feeding.
She ordered the child to clean the vomit and while at it, hit the KG1 pupil with a mop stick until the little boy fell unconscious.
The victim was rushed to the hospital where he was resuscitated after eight infusions.
The parents of the child have reported the matter to the Nsawam Police Station and are seeking justice.
Speaking to Benjamin Akakpo on the Executive Breakfast Show (EBS) on Class91.3FM on Monday, 24 February 2020, the father of the victim advised parents to listen to complaints from their children when they return from school.
The school authorities told producers of the EBS that they are aware of the incident and are currently doing their independent investigation so cannot speak on the matter immediately.
Teachers and Trainees Advocacy (TTA) has asked government to either release or justify delayed posting of some 2018 trained teachers of colleges of education.
The fate of the newly trained teachers who presumably qualify and yet not posted are in uncertainty.
Out of about 14,500 fresh teachers, about 13,500 have been successfully posted of which their employment took effect from December 1, 2019.
Since November 22, 2019 that the majority of the postings were effected,those left have not received any tangible reasons emanating from the GES as to why they are still not posted.
In a statement issued on Monday and jointly signed by Antwi Karikari Patrick and Bernard Sao, National Convener-TTA, and Director of publicity respectively, re-echoed that the frustration and worrying state of these fateless trained teachers are immeasurable.
“Through this release, TTA, as an interested party in issues of our education sector, humbly request the Ghana Education Service who is their direct employer and all relevant stakeholders, to rectify all technical and administrative challenges and release the posting of such remaining distressed qualified teachers as soon as possible.
“On the other hand, if there are justifiable reasons for the delayed posting of these fresh teachers, we call on GES to, in no time, come out and explain to them as well as the general public.
“In as much as we understand they are the minority, we hold the view that without any cause, they deserve to be posted as their colleagues have been.â€
