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Mrs Fuseini shares story of her journey to the top as 2024 Best Teacher

Oustanding teacher in Ghana

Oustanding teacher in Ghana

Growing up, Mrs Fuseina Fusei­ni’s greatest ambition was to become a lawyer.

Her reason for that determination was simple – to ‘fight’ for the vulner­able in society and be an advocate against early marriage in her commu­nity.

• Mrs Fuseini doing
what she loves best
• Mrs Fuseini doing what she loves best

Though, she did not realise that childhood dream to become a lawyer due to financial difficulties, her pas­sion and desire for teaching over the years was given a very good though – and it paid off.

For her close followers, her biggest career honour chalked recently in the teaching industry came as little surprise.

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• Celebrating AU day with children
• Celebrating AU day with children

Mrs Fuseini was recently adjudged the first female kindergarten teacher to win the highest national honour for teachers.

She received that recognition at a forum at the Great Hall of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi last weekend for her consistency, dedi­cation, hard work and innovation in teaching and learning.

For her prize, Mrs Fuseini received a three-bedroom house and a scholar­ship to study abroad if she so desires, with funding from the Ghana Educa­tion Trust Fund (GETFund).

The 47 year-old Kindergarten (KG) teacher at the Madina SDA Basic School in the Greater Accra Region with over a decade experience in the teaching profession shares her jour­ney with The Spectator.

Mrs Fuseini grew up in a community where teachers were respected and valued.

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This influenced her decision to ven­ture into teaching.

But that passion for teaching aside, Mrs Fuseini also realised that teaching can offer a similar platform to work as an advocate for the underprivi­leged and the marginalised in the society.

“Gone were the days, teachers commanded some sort of respect; they were seen to be disciplined. They were seen as mentors in the community. They were very influen­tial.”

“I realised teaching was also a form of advocacy to share ideas. Most of my family members were teachers and that even made it easy for me to go into the profession,” she ex­plained.

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Education

After completing Senior High School (SHS) at the Saint Monica’s School of Education at Asante Mampong in the Ashanti region, she furthered her education at the University of Educa­tion (Winneba) where she studied for diploma in Basic Education.

“Teaching Kindergaten for the past 15 years gives me so much joy. I have a feeling it’s my calling be­cause I teach children with ease and vibe with the children so easily,” she stated.

With her experience at the kin­dergarten level, Mrs Fuseini is in a better position to clear a few miscon­ceptions at that early stage of child education.

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She is aware of a few of these misconceptions, one of which is the school of thought that Kin­dergarten class or school is all about uniformed kids eat­ing and sleeping.

In her view, that stage of a child’s education or upbringing is very cru­cial and urged both teach­ers and parents to pay atten­tion to the little ones at that stage.

Explain­ing the educational curriculum used in teaching, Mrs Fuseini noted that three methods were employed in teaching the kids.

They are the differentiated, play-based and hands-on-learn methods.

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The differentiated method demands from the teach­er to allow the child to go about activities differently according to their strength.

In the play-based curriculum, the children are allowed to play and by so doing, it builds their creativity and supports their future aspiration.

Furthermore, she said children were sometimes grouped according to their abilities in the hands-on-learn method to explore with their hands.

Feeling

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Sharing how she felt when she was announced as winner of the presti­gious award – The Most Outstanding Teacher of the Year, she exclaimed: “I was full of joy and also proud of my achievement and immense contribu­tion to the country.

“This is history because this is the first time a kindergarten teacher has ever won such an award and I count myself blessed and lucky.”

She commended the initiative to reward dedicated teachers, saying the recognition was key to bring out the best in every teacher.

Mrs Fuseini believes that dedication to her profession has played a signif­icant role in her achieve­ments, adding that, “This is going to motivate and inspire so many teachers to do their best despite the stress associated with the teaching job.”

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“If I get the needed sup­port, I would want to do my PHD in teaching. I still want to focus on kinder­garten in order to rebrand the early child education sector”

Challenges

Infrastructure is one major challenge facing ed­ucation at this level. Some are the inadequate space that compel authorities to put too many children in a class.

This, she explained, makes too overwhelming and children some­times finds it difficult to pay atten­tion in class.

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She said despite the few gains chalked at the sector, they were limited sometimes in the area of resources due to the lack of logistics like puzzles, building blocks and com­puters to support the curriculum.

Teachers are described as a bridge upon which people use to get to their destination and therefore must not be neglected.

There is, therefore, the need to make provisions for them not only through finances but ensuring that they teach in a good environment.

Family

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She was born to Fuseina Salifu and Amina Fuseini in Ketekrachi in the Oti Region of Ghana.

She is the third child among eight siblings and married to Mr Zibrim Biosama and are blessed with three children.

When Mrs Fuseini is not in the class­room, she can watch movies all day.

She appealed to all teachers to show dedication to the profession and called on the government to support the teaching department with incen­tives.

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By Linda Abrefi Wadie

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Jacqueline Antwi-Danso …NSERC Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at the David A. Dunlap Department for Astronomy & Astrophysics

• Jacqueline Antwi-Danso
• Jacqueline Antwi-Danso

 In the 1990s, astronomers discovered two distant, mas­sive galaxies that had com­pletely stopped, or quenched their star formation. The discovery marked a complete shift in everything astrono­mers thought they knew about how galaxies formed.

Massive galaxies like the Milky Way took several billion years to form. But those new­ly discovered galaxies did so in just a fraction of that time.

“The discovery meant that these galaxies were older than the age of the universe, which is physically impossible,” says Jacqueline Antwi-Danso, the NSERC Banting Postdoc­toral Fellow at the David A. Dunlap Department for Astron­omy & Astrophysics.

Ms Antwi-Danso
Ms Antwi-Danso

“When we look at the formation histories of these distant quenched galaxies, the observations suggest that they formed too quickly and too early compared to what we see in cosmological simula­tions.”

Antwi-Danso is tackling one of astronomy’s biggest chal­lenges in her search to find the earliest distant quenched galaxies in the universe. She is particularly interested in how these galaxies formed and when they stopped forming stars.

Astronomers have discov­ered several more distant, quenched galaxies at increas­ingly earlier periods in the universe’s history. These gal­axies are more massive than the Milky Way and yet formed within a billion years of the Big Bang (which happened nearly 14 billion years ago). In other words, they formed their stars extremely rapidly, unlike any galaxy observed in the present-day.

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So, what does this all mean for astronomers? The extreme star formation processes implied by these observations of distant quenched galaxies are uncomfortably close to the limits permitted by galaxy formation physics. Therefore, trying to understand these objects in more detail is a high priority research area for astronomers.

Massive galaxies like the Milky Way have up to a trillion stars and are characterised by luminous, spiral-like arms of active star formation. Meanwhile, distant, quenched galaxies are composed of old stars and look like relics: small orange-red blobs. This is because their light has been “stretched out” to infrared wavelengths due to the ex­pansion of the universe, which also makes them fainter and harder to spot.

At U of T, Antwi-Danso is building on significant findings from a study she participated in as a PhD student at Texas A&M University. Using the 8-metre telescope at the Gemini South Observatory based in Chile, the FENIKS collaboration surveyed large areas of the sky to increase the chances of finding these rare massive galaxies. They designed and installed two new imaging filters on the telescope to push the bound­ary of what was possible with ground-based infrared tele­scopes. The survey led to two critical discoveries.

The first was the identi­fication of two new distant quenched galaxies. The discovery confirmed existing knowledge about the for­mation histories of distant galaxies, “namely, that these galaxies form too early and too quickly based on what theory predicts,” Antwi-Danso explains.

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The study also highlighted that astronomers can reliably use ground-based telescopes to observe distant quenched galaxies as far back as 12.5 billion years into history of the universe. To detect them at earlier times than this, space-based data is required.

Additionally, astronomers are rethinking long-standing models of galaxy formation as they observe distant quenched galaxies with supermassive black holes at their centers emitting energetic radiation.

This is important, Ant­wi-Danso says, because the differing models for light emission from stars and super­massive black holes can affect estimates of the physical properties of these distant galaxies.

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As more questions arise, there is an increasing need to ensure the accuracy of the physical properties of distant quenched galaxies derived from modeling their observa­tions. Fortunately, there have been significant technological advancements to address this need.

Harnessing the power of space-based technology

• Ms Antwi-Danso was reconized as a
Pillar of University Leadership in 2017
• Ms Antwi-Danso was reconized as a Pillar of University Leadership in 2017

The next stages of Ant­wi-Danso’s research involve further exploration of those two distant galaxies she dis­covered from Chile. To do so, she’s leveraging the power of the James Webb Space Tele­scope (JWST).

Distant galaxies are hard to detect because their emit­ted light is shifted to infra­red wavelengths, where the earth’s atmosphere blocks most of the light. The sky in the infrared is about 10,000 times brighter than the typical distant massive galaxy. This makes it extremely difficult to detect the most distant quenched galaxies using ground-based telescopes.

The JWST – which launched in December 2021 – is about 100 times more sensitive than the largest ground-based infrared telescopes and can observe galaxies in a fraction of the time of its predeces­sors.

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In fact, it has doubled the number of spectroscopic ob­servations of the most distant, quenched galaxies within only two years of operation. Before its launch, astronomers had spectra of only 35 of these galaxies observed within the first two billion years of the universe’s history.

To further observe those two galaxies, Antwi-Danso will use data from the JWST to ex­amine their spectra – the light emitted by these galaxies over a range of wavelengths – which can reveal information like chemical composition. Insights will help provide a more accurate understanding of their formation histories to compare with updated cosmology simulations, and, hopefully, offer new an­swers about possible tensions between theory and observa­tions.

Additionally, Antwi-Danso is part of the Canadian NIRISS Unbiased Cluster Survey (CA­NUCS), a multi-institutional collaboration that uses gravi­tational lensing — a phenom­enon where a massive object acts as a cosmic magnifying glass — to study the building blocks of the earliest galaxies.

Within that collaboration, Antwi-Danso is also a re­searcher on the Technicolor Survey, which employs mul­tiple filters on the JWST’s Near-Infrared Camera to observe quenched galaxies at wavelengths that are inacces­sible from the ground.

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“We want to find galaxies that contain the first gen­erations of stars, and then model their observations with galaxy formation models to infer their physical properties and star formation histories,” Antwi-Danso says.

With the technological advantages provided by the JWST to push the boundaries of distant galaxy observations, Antwi-Danso’s research will provide valuable insight into understanding how early gal­axies came to be.

“We’re really excited to see where the results lead and to compare those observa­tions with current theoretical predictions for these distant massive galaxies.”

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 Ayorkor Botchwey’s rise to top of Commonwealth, a major feat for Ghanaian diplomac

Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey

 It was a great moment to savour on Monday when hundreds of Ghanaians welcomed Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the newly elected Secretary-General of the Com­monwealth.

Her arrival momentarily halted operations at the Koto­ka International Airport (KIA) when she stepped out from the plane in the company of President Akufo-Addo.

• Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey
• Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey

Among the large crowd to welcome her were represen­tatives of the Ga Mantse, Nii Teiko Tsuru II, Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, New Patriotic Party (NPP) sup­porters and family members.

Addressing the crowd, the newly elected Secretary-Gen­eral of the Commonwealth, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has promised to provide the needed leadership to combat climate change which pres­ents a clear existential threat to all.

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That, she hopes to achieve by working closely with mem­ber states and other multilat­eral institutions.

“I shall harness opportuni­ties for transformation and enhance our global voice,” she stated.

The exercise was held in Apia, Samoa where she was elected as the Secretary-Gen­eral of the Commonwealth.

She pledged to build on the work which had been done by the staff of the Secretar­iat and their partners which had made it possible for the Commonwealth to open new chapters in the shared journey towards deepening democ­racy, peace, prosperity and economic progress.

The Secretary-General elect also said the Commonwealth with 56 countries had a com­bined population of 2.7 billion people, with 60 per cent be­ing young people, with 33 out of the 56 being small islands developing states and small states, stressing that, “It is diverse and I’m inspired by the resilience of our member states. We come from differ­ent nations and cultures, but we share a Commonwealth of values.”

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Additionally, she said her vision was to build on these strengths, promote trade and ensure education, skills train­ing, development and innova­tion for the teeming numbers.

The election was held at the 27th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Apia, Samoa, held on Octo­ber 21-26, 2024.

Ms Botchwey contested against Joshua Setipa of Leso­tho and Dr Mammadou Tanga­ra of the Gambia.

This makes Ms Botchwey the first African woman and Sec­ond African national to hold this prestigious position.

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She would succeed Baroness Patricia Scotland of the Unit­ed Kingdom on April 1, 2025 embarking on a five year term as a Secretary-General.

Ms Botchwey brings to the role an impressive background as a lawyer, diplomat, and communication professional.

She has served as Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration for eight years during which she led Ghana’s notable two-year tenure on the UN Security Council.

Her service includes chair­ing the ECOWAS Council of Ministers for two terms (2020-2022), four terms as a legislator (2004- 2020), and membership in the ECOWAS parliament.

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In campaigning for the position, Ms Botchwey pro­posed six areas to reposition the organisation to respond to the expectations of the 2.7 billion people across the Commonwealth for a decent and fulfilling life.

These were to enhance democracy; strengthen Com­monwealth values and realise the democratic dividend; and increase trade and investment cooperation.

The rest are promoting youth, education, skills, innovation and startups; enhancing advocacy in miti­gating the impact of climate change, especially on small Island developing states and small states; as well as effec­tively managing resources for an effective Commonwealth institution.

President Akufo-Addo described Ms Botchwey’s election as an honour that required the support and prayers of all Ghanaians.

Ms Botchwey, he noted, was the first African woman to lead in the history of the organisation, stressing that it was not going to be an easy task because of where we are in human history, with a lot of difficulties ahead.

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“But I have absolutely no doubt that you have the qual­ities necessary to enable you to succeed as Secretary Gen­eral of the Commonwealth,” President Akufo-Addo stated.

President Akufo-Addo further noted that it was the qualities of competence, hard work, diligence, honesty, and of commitment that drew the massive global support for Ms Botchwey’s candidature for the prestigious office.

“She’s done a yeoman’s job for us as Foreign Secretary. Foreign Secretary, Chairper­son of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, and several other important international as­signments have been very well delivered by this… I still call her a young lady,” he said.

“Let’s all stand together behind her and push her to do a very good job for our country. She now flies the flag of Ghana on the global stage in a way which has not been done since our late, revered diplomat, Kofi Annan, who was Secretary General of the Unit­ed Nations,” he concluded.

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Ms Botchwey has since her election received congrat­ulatory messages as well as well-wishes from friends around the world.

The well-wishers included President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, AU High Representative for Silencing the Guns in Africa, Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Nigeria’s president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and outgoing Secretary-General, Baroness Patricia Scotland.

Shirley  Ayorkor  Botchwey
Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey

President Akufo-Addo, in a Facebook post, praised Ms Botchwey’s character and dedication to service. Ms Botchwey was her deputy when he served as Foreign Minister in the President J.A Kufour-led government.

“For years, I have watched her serve Ghana, Africa and the international community with unshakeable commitment and grace,” he stated.

The President expressed confidence that her leadership would guide the Common­wealth toward “a future of hope and unity.”

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Vice President, Bawumia, took to social media to share his congratulations, writing: “Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, I am happy with the news about your election as the new Secretary-Gen­eral of the Commonwealth. Congratulations on making Ghana proud. Keep shining, and I know you will excel as always.”

According to a Ghana News Agency (GNA) report, Dr Chambas described her elec­tion as “a victory for Ghanaian diplomacy.”

Speaking from an AU Re­treat in Abidjan, he empha­sised that this achievement represents not just personal success but also recognition of African women’s capabilities.

Having worked on Ms Botchwey’s campaign in the Caribbean and Pacific Island countries, he expressed par­ticular satisfaction with the outcome.

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Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, through his adviser on Information and Strategy, highlighted Ms Botchwey’s extensive career in Public Administration and Foreign Af­fairs as perfect qualifications for the role.

Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey interacting with some queenmothers on arrival
Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey interacting with some queenmothers on arrival

He expressed optimism about working with her to advance the Commonwealth’s vision and strengthen in­tra-commonwealth trade, particularly emphasising support for an African bid for permanent representation at the UN Security Council.

The outgoing Secretary-Gen­eral, Baroness Patricia Scot­land, warmly welcomed her successor in a social media post, stating: “It is my honour to pass the baton to my dear sister… She will be uniquely blessed, as I have been, to hold this office and serve our precious Commonwealth.”

By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu

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