Prempeh College, Mfantsipim & Wesley Girls' Meet In 2016 NSMQ Quarter Finals

The ongoing 2016 National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ) is getting keener and interesting day after day as the lesser known schools are giving the so called “crème de la crème” schools a run for their money in the one-eighth stage of the competition.

One of such contest was the one involving Winneba SHS, Ashiaman SHS and the Reigning Champions, Prempeh College in the 9^th in series of the one-eighth stage of the competition.

Defending Champions, Prempeh College

This contest which has sparked a lot of debate on social media with many accusing Primetime Limited, organisers of the competition  for cheating underdogs Winneba SHS to favour three times champions Prempeh College, an allegation the company has vehemently denied.

The contest as usual is presented in five rounds: the round for fundamental questions in Science and Mathematics; the speed round and “the Problem of the Day.” The remaining two rounds include True or False statements and the round for Riddles.

The first two rounds had no problem with Prempeh College scoring 27 points, closely followed by Winneba SHS with 26 points and Ashaiman with 12.

Winneba SHS

The 3^rd round which is the “Problem of the Day” where all three competing schools are presented with the same question to attempt in three minutes; after which they are awarded marks based on the quality of answers provided. In the case of this contest, there was a problem with the question presented to all three schools. Speaking to Univers news off record, one of the consultants of the NSMQ, admitted there was an error with the question to all three schools.

“On the question paper 4 hydrogens was stated for the contestants to work with instead of 11. Ashaiman SHS and Winneba SHS upon realizing the mistake used the 11 hydrogens gas which ironically corresponds to the ideal solution presented by the Consultants to the supposedly wrong question. Prempeh College on the other hand stuck to the 4 hydrogens indicated on the question paper.” the consultant explained.

But all these came to light after the solutions presented by the schools where scored by the Quiz mistress, Dr. Elsie Effah Kaufmann. Out of the 10 points for the question, Prempeh College had 1 (28) whilst Winneba SHS and Ashaiman SHS had 7 (33) and 3 (15) points respectively. Upon realizing the answers presented by the other two schools, contestants of the 2015 NSMQ winners, Prempeh College drew the attention of the Quiz mistress to the fact that, there was no way the solution provided by Winneba SHS and Ashaiman SHS could have satisfied the question, a claim the quiz mistress in consultation with the Chemistry consultant upheld.

Ashiaman SHS

In fairness of the competition, the Quiz mistress again in consultation with the consultants agreed for the third round to be retaken but this time a question in Biology. This decision was gladly welcome with thunderous claps and cheers from supporters of Prempeh College whilst funs of Winneba SHS initially resisted the decision but later kowtow to the resolution.

At end of the retaken “problem of the Day”, Winneba SHS and Prempeh College had 3 each with Ashaiman SHS scoring 2. With the new scores, the results at the end of the third round was as follows: Prempeh College 36; Winneba SHS with 31 and 17 for Ashaiman SHS.

Contestants for Winneba SHS could not keep their composure in the fourth and the final round of the competition as they dissipated their points to allow Prempeh College to sail through to the quarter finals.

Earlier in the day two times NSMQ champions , Mfantsipim School and Wesley Girl’s school narrowly won their respective contest to also book a place in the quarter finals where they will lock horns with Mfantsipim School and Prempeh College.

By: Emmanuel Dzivenu/ Radio Univers 105.7MHz

University of Ghana To Sack ‘Non-Performing’ Lecturers

University of Ghana

Some lecturers of the University of Ghana will be relieved of their duties next month should they fail to conduct and produce research documents as part of their duties.

This was revealed by the National President of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Dr. Harry Agbanu in an exclusive interview with Univers news.

According to him, the action will be taken per the University’s regulation which demands that lecturers conduct researches and publish journals to enable them rise to the position of Senior lecturers within a stipulated time.

Dr. Agbanu further indicated that the dismissal will not be the first instance for the University as many others have also been dismissed for not making themselves relevant to the academic community by publishing research work.

He also added that the University is compelled to take such a decision to protect the integrity of the institution even though it decreases the lecturer-to-student ratio.

“The University must be seen to be living up to expectation. The quality of faculty has a lot to do with the quality of the University’s integrity and so if the University feels that you are not making effort to publish and get promoted, they relief you of your position and it has being happening every year.” Dr. Agbanu explained

In a related development, Dr. Harry Agbanu has assured students in the various public universities the association will not embark on any strike action this year as government is expediting action on matters relating to the payment of book and research allowance for lecturers in due time.

Government has approved the payment of GH¢37 million in book and research allowances to lecturers in tertiary institutions. Meanwhile Finance Ministry has begun the processes for the release and payment of the money to beneficiary lecturers.

By: Emmanuel Dzivenu/ Radio Univers 105.7 MHz

University Of Ghana Teaching Hospital To Commence Operations In September

Project Coordinator and Interim CEO of the University Of Ghana Teaching Hospital, Professor Aaron Nii Lante Lawson has disclosed that the Legon Teaching Hospital will be completed in September this year. This comes after the contractors failed to meet the December 2015 deadline. He revealed this to Univers news on the sidelines of a working visit by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health to the site on Friday June 17, 2016.

The visit afforded the lawmakers the opportunity to assess the progress of work, interact with the Project Coordinator as well as seek clarification on issues including power supply to the facility, training of medical personnel, recruitment process, and management of the facilities among others.

Addressing some of the concerns raised by the parliamentary select committee on health, Professor Lawson said a 2,500 megawatt standby by generator has been procured to forestall any power fluctuations when the facility starts full operation. He also assured the select committee on health of an impartial recruitment process that will be based on competence and commitment to work.

Citing some of the challenges encountered by the contractors and consultants on the project, Prof. Lawson said the inability of the state to grant tax exemptions on the procurement of materials had increased the cost of procuring the requisite materials but received assurance from the Committee to do something about it.

The Interim CEO told the committee measures will be put in place to curb the recurrent strike action that has characterized the health sector.

 “We are going to put a clause in the appointment letters of all health professionals we employ not to embark on any form of strike even if their various national association have done so.”

Members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health

Meanwhile Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health, Hon. Joseph Yieleh Chireh expressed satisfaction on the progress of work in spite of the delay which was due to funding. Hon. Chireh also said he was impressed about the commitment of the University of Ghana council in seeing to the success of the project.

The $217 million facility is expected to provide cutting-edge medical training for about 1,000 medical doctors to improve the current doctor-to-patient ratio and serve as a research Centre for various health professionals including students. Built with a loan facility from the Israeli government, the hospital is the first of its kind in the West African sub-region and will help improve the delivery of health in the country and the sub-region.

By: Emmanuel Dzivenu/ Radio Univers 105.7MHz

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