News
COVID-19: Final year JHS students back to school today
Final year Junior High School (JHS) students across the country are expected to return to school today to prepare for their exit examination.
As part of measures to control the spread of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19),following the country recording its first case on March 12, the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo outlined a number of measures which included closing of schools from the university to the basic level.
The closure of schools compelled all school children to stay home for more than 12 weeks.
However, in his 10th televised address on the COVID-19 pandemic, the President announced the resumption of academic work for all final year students at various levels of education.
Beginning June 15 for tertiary students and June 22 for Senior High School, the JHS students would have their turn today, June 29.
The president also indicated that, upon their return, JHS 3 classes would comprise a maximum of 30 students.
In addition, President Akufo-Addo said each student, teacher, and non-teaching staff would be provided with re-usable face masks by the Ministry of Education, he added.
He therefore tasked the Ministry of Information, the National Commission for Civic Education and the media to intensify public education on protocols and directions on the disease.
He also called on all religious, traditional, community and opinion leaders to continue to partner with government in engaging, mobilising and enforcing adherence to social distancing and personal hygiene practices in their respective communities.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh has explained that all JHS candidates were expected to undergo eleven weeks of revision, followed by their Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in September this year.
Announcing detailed guidelines for the re-opening of schools following the president’s announcement the sector minister, Dr Prempeh said that, it would embark on a massive exercise aimed at getting all final year students to the classroom.
Already, final year tertiary and Senior High School (SHS) students have resumed teaching and learning for the past six weeks and would take their respective examination.
Source: Ghanaian Times
News
Ghana-Colombia strengthens ties through diplomatic engagement
In an important diplomatic engagement, the Colombian Ambassador to Ghana H.E. Daniel Garces Carabali paid a courtesy call on the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, at his office in Accra to discuss some key areas of collaboration.
The meeting focused on pressing issues, including security, decongestion of Ghana’s prisons, prison reform programmes, training programmes, improving the welfare of prisoners and enhancing disaster management in the country.
The courtesy call underscores the growing bilateral ties between Ghana and Colombia, building on previous engagements, such as the visit of the Colombian Vice President to Ghana in 2023.
The meeting demonstrates the commitment of both nations to fostering cooperation and addressing shared challenges.
News
Ghana to host African Catholic Journalists from August 10
The Union Catholique Africaine de la Presse (UCAP), also known as the African Catholic Union of the Press, in collaboration with the Catholic Association of Media Practitioners-Ghana (CAMP-G), is set to host its prestigious Triennial Congress from August 10 to 17 August, 2025.
The programme would be held at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Legon, Accra, Ghana.
This landmark event, the most significant gathering of Catholic journalists in Africa, will bring together media professionals, researchers, and experts in digital technology from across the continent and beyond.
The theme for the Congress is: “Balancing Technological Progress and the Preservation of Human Values in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”
Congress Highlights
The UCAP Congress 2025 will feature discussions and deliberations on critical issues arising from or related to integral human development, particularly within the framework of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Some of the key sub-themes to be addressed include:Corporate Social Responsibility in Managing the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Human Values, Deploying AI in Eco-friendly Business Start-ups in Africa: Opportunities and Challenges, Technology and the Reprogramming of Social Reality, Distortion of Reality in Social and Digital Media, Ecological Education and Action Against Unsustainable Exploitation of Natural Resources, and Media and the Promotion of the Recommendations of the Synod on Synodality in Africa.
Participants will include media professionals from both ecclesiastical and lay organisations, media researchers and academics, representatives from the Vatican, government agencies, NGOs, civil society, and the digital technology sector.
Objectives of the Congress
The primary goal of this Congress is to strengthen the capacities of media professionals and educate the public on the necessity of preserving human values amid rapid technological progress. Specific objectives include; Training 100 media practitioners in Artificial Intelligence and emerging technologies, with a focus on balancing innovation and human values.
This will include promoting ethics and bioethics in technical research and technological innovations through media.
Advocating for human values such as respect for life, human dignity, charity, solidarity, and human rights and assessing the impact of technological progress to better understand the challenges, risks, and opportunities presented by AI will be part of the objectives.
UCAP is a continental organisation dedicated to promoting communication within the Catholic Church and its partners in Africa. With a mission to foster spiritual growth, collaboration, and responsible journalism, UCAP works to spread the Gospel, uphold human values, and support developmental initiatives across Africa and beyond.
UCAP is an independent, autonomous, non-political, and non-profit organisation comprising African Catholic journalists, communicators, academics, researchers, and institutions in various media fields.
