Full Statement: UG-SRC Official Stance On Payment Of Utility Bills

The University of Ghana Students’ Representative Council (UG-SRC) has officially declared its position on the recurrent debate on the payment of utility bills by tertiary students across the country at a Press Conference today at the SRC Union Building; University of Ghana.

Below is the full statement signed by the UG SRC President, Ms. Esinam Afi Seade

   

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STUDENTS’ REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA  

STUDENTS ARE NOT IN THE POSITION TO PAY FOR UTILITY BILLS

National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) President, Fellow Executives, Students leaders, Friends of the media, Ladies and Gentlemen, the issue of who bears responsibility for the payment of water and electricity consumption by subvented institutions in the country has become rather unclear in recent times.

Whereas students believe government bears the responsibility, the University Management also believe government has developed a cold feet with regards to payment of utility bills which could compel them to push forward the burden to students following the directive from the Ministry of Finance (MOF) to the utility companies notably the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Ghana Water Company Limited that public tertiary institutions are responsible for the payment of utility bills from January 2014. This has led to threats of disconnection and actual disconnection of several institutions on many occasions by Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Ghana Water Company Limited.

As a result, the Finance and General Purposes Committee of the University of Ghana on a proposal to include charges for utilities (Electricity and Water) in students’ fees for the 2015/2016 academic year, submitted by the Finance Director on 16^th June 2015 was addressed. In this proposal, an amount of GHC225.36 and GHC627.14 was proposed as charges for utilities for Non-residential students and Residential students respectively in a situation where administrative consumption of utilities were to be footed by management, with charges of GHC745.80 and GHC344.03 also going for Utilities for Residential Students and Non-Residential Students respectively in a situation where student were to bear the total cost.

In interacting to this, the proactive effort of government saw to the revert of this decision by the University authority through a letter from the Ministry of Education dated 29th June, 2015. Per that letter, all Educational and Health Institutions were mandated to be exempted from the ongoing disconnection exercise as mentioned above. In addition, the Ministry also reiterated that Government had not taken any decision for students in some Public Tertiary Institution to pay utility bills for the academic year.

Going forward, Students’ Representative Council has also taken notice of the decision of the University management to bill students for Utilities for the 2016/2017 academic year following the inaction of government to make payment for the Utility charges as promised. A projection of gh¢2,326.00 and gh¢922.00( for residential and non-residential students respectively) came out from the finance directorate as proposed utility charges on students for the 2016/2017 academic year in a meeting of the finance and general purposes committee of the university of Ghana. This to the directorate was measure that the university was adopting as a sustenance mechanism to prevent threat of disconnection and actual disconnection.

By this release

• We ask that the Government issues a directive to all stakeholders involved, namely the electricity company of Ghana (ECG), Ghana Water Company Limited and the University of Ghana management, asking that students are waived from these proposed charges.

• We call on parents, civil society organization, students unions and the general public to solidarize with the University of Ghana SRC to vehemently avert these unwarranted charges on students.

• We further call on all students of the University of Ghana to remain calm as the SRC will not succumb to any policy decision at the detriment of students’ welfare. The SRC stands with students always!

Students leader, friends of the media, ladies and gentlemen, we are very grateful for your time. God richly bless you for your audience.

Thank you.

Esinam Afi Seade

SRC PRESIDENT

Mfantsipim, Adisadel And Opoku Ware To Clash In 2016 National Science and Maths Quiz Grand Finale

Two central Region-based Senior High School, Mfantsipim and Adisadel College as well as Ashanti Region-based Opoku Ware School have booked a place in the Grand finale of the 2016 National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ) schedule to take place on Wednesday June 29, 2016 at the University of Ghana.

First to qualify was two champions, Mfantsipim School as they won their contest involving 2013 victors’, St. Thomas Aquinas SHS and Ghana National College in the 1^st semi final contest. The 2^nd contest also saw 2015 first runner up, Adisadel College secure their qualification into the finals after beating Accra Academy and Kumasi Secondary Technical School. And in a fiercely contested 3^rd in series of the semi finals saw St. Hurbert Minor Seminary and Kumasi High School painfully lost to two times Champions, Opoku Ware School.

The stakes are high with Mfantsipim and Opoku Ware Schools looking forward to winning the trophy for the third time whilst Adisadel College will be hoping to make history by winning the trophy for the first ever since the National Science and Maths Quiz started twenty one years ago.

The winner of the 2016 National Science and Maths Quiz will walk away will the coveted cash prize, trophy, branded souvenirs from sponsors and the bragging right for one year.

Below are some statistics of the 2016 NSMQ finalists.

By: Emmanuel Dzivenu/ Radio Univers 105.7 MHz

Quarter Finalists Of 2016 National Science And Maths Quiz by Regions

   The 2016 National Science and Maths Quiz will on June 23 begin the Quarter Finals at the University of Ghana. 27 schools including Defending Champions, Prempeh College will be locking horns in the quarter finals to book a place in the semifinals.

Ashanti and Central Region top win the highest number of schools that have qualified for the Quarter finals of the competition whilst schools in the Volta, Upper East and Upper West Regions failed to secure a place in the Quarter finals.

Below is the list of Quarter Finalists by Region.

CENTRAL REGION (7)

Wesley Girls’ High School

Mfantsiman Girls’ SHS

Mfantsipim School

Ghana National College

Aggrey Memorial SHS

Adisadel College

University Practice SHS

ASHANTI REGION (7)

Prempeh College

KNUST SHS

SDA SHS, Bekwai

Kumasi Sec Tech School

Kumasi High School

Opoku Ware School

St. Hurbert Min. Sem. SHS

EASTERN REGION (5)

Presby SHTS, Aburi

Pope John SHS

Benkum SHS

Nifa SHS

Koforidua Sec Tech

GREATER ACCRA REGION (4)

St. Thomas Aquinas SHS

Accra Academy

Ada SHS

West Africa SHS

WESTERN REGION (2)

Sekondi College

Ghana Secondary Technical School

BRONG AHAFO REGION (1)

Kintampo SHS

 NORTHERN REGION (1)

Tamale SHS

VOLTA REGION (0)

UPPER WEST REGION (0)

UPPER EAST REGION (0)

By: Emmanuel Dzivenu/ Radio Univers 105.7 MHz

''Leakage-free'' BECE Is Pure Luck-Prof. Dzidonu

Education experts in the country have waded into the controversies surrounding the use of digital system in marking examination papers. The experts say it will be very difficult to develop a software flexible enough to mark papers especially essay scripts.

This comes on the back of some recommendations made by the committee set up to investigate the recent exam leakages in the WASSCE for the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to check exam malpractices using technology, even to the extent of marking their scripts.

Among the recommendations are the Annual rotation and award systems for center invigilators, stricter measures and the use of advanced technology to curb exam malpractices.

These measures were necessitated by the recurrent leakages of examination papers and the cancellation of five papers in the 2015 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) after the Examination Council detected the seepage of the papers on social media.

Speaking to Univers news, President of the Accra Institute of Technology (AIT), Professor Clement Dzidonu proposed the use of technology to eliminate the use of question papers. He opined that the seepage of exams papers are as a result of the long period between when examiners set the questions and the day the papers are written.

“We cannot solve the leakage problem unless we eliminate this numerous stages and the lot of people handling this paper at various stages” he said.

Professor Dzidonu further said the digital marking cannot deal with poor invigilation that would allow students copy during an examination. He also described the leakage-free 2016 BECE as pure luck. According to him the examination body has not put enough measures in place to nip the problem in the bud.

In a related development, Counseling Psychologist at the University of Ghana, Dr. Annabella Osei-Tutu also lauded the use of digital marking to grade multiple choice questions but was unsure of any sophisticated software that can mark essay question.

“When we are marking essays; we have our marking scheme. In the case your clever student has answered the question in a way that it goes beyond your marking scheme; that is where your flexibility will come in. There may be certain things you may not even have captured but your bright student has incorporated that into his or her essay and so if it is not in your simple marking scheme and you fed it into the machine, how do you compensate your bright student?” Dr. Osei-Tutu clarified

She has however appealed to teachers to encourage their students learn beyond what they teach them in class.

Meanwhile the Ghana Education Service (GES) has said they must be congratulated for the leakage-free 2016 BECE. This appears not to have gone down well with many Ghanaians describing it as needless and baseless.

By: Emmanuel Dzivenu/ Radio Univers 105.7 MHz

Brazil Sent Home From The Copa America In USA

The 8 times Copa America Champions have been eliminated from the competition after a controversial goal in the dying minutes of the game was allowed by the Center referee. The goal which was scored in the 74^th minutes of the game after Peru’s Andy Polo sent a cross from the right wing of the pitch to the center of the Brazilian goalpost and was converted by substitute Raul Ruidiaz with the hand into the post.

While Coach Dunga's men started protesting furiously to the Uruguayan referee Andres Cunha decision; the Peruvians went celebrating.

The referee ruled the goal out at first with Peru joining in the protest, which protracted for close to five minutes, with the Center referee taking directives over his earpiece from an unknown third party.

Eventually the handball goal was allowed with the Peruvians jubilating at the expense of the Brazilians.

Brazilians Protesting Against the Goal

After six minutes of stoppage time Andres Cunha ended the game with Peru winning the match by alone goal to nil.

The last time Brazil was sent home in the group stages was in 1987 when Argentina hosted the competition and was won by Uruguay.

Peru and Ecuador have gained qualification into the quarter finals of the competition with seven (7) and Five (5) points respectively.

Whiles Peru will lock horns with Colombia in the quarter finals on June 17, Ecuador will take on host nation USA.

By: Emmanuel Dzivenu/Radio Univers 105.7FM

2016 National Science and Maths Reaches 1/8 Stage- Here Are The List Of Schools

The one-eighth stage of the 21^st edition of the National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ) is scheduled to begin on Monday June 13, 2016. 54 out of 108 schools qualified from the preliminaries to battle it out with the 27 schools seeded from last year’s contest.

Mrs. Gladys Schwinger

The quiz mistress, Dr. Elsie Kaufman is expected to moderate the rest of the competition after organizers, Primetime Media

introduced two other mistresses, Dr. Angela M. Lamptey (Department of Marine and Fisheries Sciences, UG) and Mrs. Gladys Schwinger (Department of Botany) to assist in the preliminaries.

There will be 27 contest in the one-eighth stage out of which the winners of the respective contest will proceed to the quarter finals slated for June 23.

Dr. Angela M. Lamptey

2015 NSMQ winners, Prempeh College are tipped to qualify to the next stage of the contest as they lock horns with underdog Ashaiman SHS and Winneba SHS in the 9^th in series of the one- eighth competition. Adisadel College and University Practice SHS are also expected to win their respective contest.

Below is the schedule for the one-eighth stage of the 2016 National Science and Maths Quiz slated to take place from June 13 to June to June 22 at the R.S Amagashe Auditorium at the University of Ghana- Legon.

Date	1/8 STAGE PAIRING FOR THE ON-GOING 2016 NATIONAL SCIENCE AND MATHS QUIZ
June 13	Oforipanin SHS	Presby Sec. Tech, Aburi	Damongo SHS
	St. Augustine College	Akwamuman SHS	Pope John, K’dua
	Sogakope SHS	Jachie Pramso SHS	Ghana Nat. College
June 14	Wesley Grammar SCH.	St. Thomas  Aquinas SHS	Half Assini SHS
	Mfantsiman Girls’ SHS	Bolgatanga SHS	Boa Amponsem SHS
	Kumasi Academy	Mawuli School	Aggrey Mem. SHS
June 15	Wesley Girls’ High SCH	Notre Dame SHS	Kwanyako SHTS
	Mfantsipim SHS	St. Charles Minor Sem.	New Juaben SHS
	Prempeh College	Ashaiman SHS	Winneba SHS
June 16	Sr. Francis Xavier Jr. Seminary	Swedru SHS	Sekondi College
	Accra Academy	Techiman SHS	Awudome SHS
	St. Peter’s SHS	Krobo Girls’, Odumasi	SDA SHS, Bekwai
June 17	Kintampo SHS	Berekum Presby SHS	Bawku SHS
	Presby Boy’s SHS	KNUST SHS	St. Mary’s SHS
	Abuakwa State College	Anlo SHS	Kumasi Sec. Tech Sch.
June 18	Anglican SHS	Tamale SHS	Armed Forces SHTS
	Ghana SHS, K’dua	Okuapemman SHS	Benkum SHS
	Adisadel College	Dzodze-Penyi SHS	Tamale Islamic SHS
June 20	Achimota SCH	Nifa SHS, Adukrom	Holy Child School
	Kumasi High SCH	Osei Tutu SHS	Kadjebi SHS
	Koforidua Sec. Tech	OLA Girls’ SHS, HO	Methodist Girls’ SHS
June 21	Ada SHS	St. Monica’s SHS	Fijai SHS
	Ghana Sec. Tech Tech	Keta SHS	Gowrie Sec/Tech
	Opoku Ware School	T.I AMASS, Kumasi	Takoradi SHS
June 22	Assin Manso SHS	Sunyani SHS	West Africa SHS
	Archbishop Porter Girls’	St. Mary’s SHS, Lolobi	St. Hubbert Min. Sem.
	University Practice SHS	Navrongo SHS	Akatsi SHTS

By: Emmanuel Dzivenu/Radio Univers 105.7MHz