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Teachers urged to support pregnant teenagers to remain in school
A former Director of the Girls Education Unit (GEU), Mrs Benedicta Tenni Seidu has asked female teachers to be compassionate on pregnant teenage girls.
According to Mrs Seidu, pregnancy should not be a reason for girls to drop out of school, adding that female teachers especially, have a huge role to play in ending the discrimination against the pregnant school girls.
Mrs Seidu said this at a panel discussion at the commemoration of the International Day for the Girl organised by the Girls Education Network of the Ghana Education Service (GES).
It was held under the theme “investing in girl’s rights, leadership and wellbeing: the education sector response to pregnancy and schooling.’’
The aim is to celebrate girls who are often marginalised.
According to Mrs Seidu, it was important for Head Teachers and their staff to frequently create awareness on the consequences of teenage pregnancy, adding that it would reduce its occurrence.
The Director, Pre-Tertiary Education, Nana Baffour Awuah said a number of programmeS aimed at putting the girl child in school had been rolled out.
He said gender parity had been achieved at the basic school level with a similar feat being chalked at the Senior High School (SHS) level.
He said his outfit would continue to implement programmes to ensure all girls have access to education and inclusivity and called on nongovernmental organisations and stakeholders to support girl child education at all levels in the country.
Mr Awuah said girl child education was important and therefore “we are doing all that we can to ensure that all obstacles that hinder girl’s education are removed’; not even pregnancy should prevent any girl from schooling.”
A Professional Officer for Culture at the United Nations Education and Scientific Organization (UNESCO), Ms Magdalene Hanna said the challenges encountered by girls were multifaceted and deeply rooted in a complex interplay of social norms that perpetuate gender discrimination, economic barriers, and structural inequalities.
She therefore called for continued policy dialogues, capacity strengthening of institutions and the promotion of best practices to ensure that girl’s right to education was not a mere promise but a reality.
She stated that girls were the future of the country and that it should be the collective responsibility of every citizen to ensure that they were equipped with tools, opportunities and platforms they needed to succeed.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
News
113 Cardinals hold 3rd General Congregation in Rome
The 113 Cardinals present in Rome held the third General Congregation on Thursday morning, and announced who will deliver the two pre-conclave meditations.
The Cardinals decided that Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández will celebrate the Mass on the sixth day of the Novemdiales, instead of Cardinal Kevin Farrell.
They agreed that Fr. Donato Ogliari, O.S.B., Abbot of St. Paul Outside the Walls, will deliver the first meditation on Monday, and that Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, Preacher Emeritus of the Papal Household, will deliver the second meditation at the beginning of the conclave, whose starting date has not yet been decided.
The Cardinals began a conversation about the Church and the world, deciding to hold the next General Congregation on Friday morning at 9:00 AM.
The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, told journalists that 61,000 people have paid their respects to the late Pope Francis as of 1:00 PM on Thursday, adding that St. Peter’s Basilica should close at midnight on Thursday, unless large crowds are still queuing to enter.
Following the Pope’s funeral on Saturday, April 26, a Rosary will be held in front of the Basilica of St. Mary Major on Saturday at 9:00 PM.
Mr. Bruni said the burial service for Pope Francis will take place in private.
Starting the morning of Sunday, April 27, the faithful may begin to visit the tomb of Pope Francis at the Marian Basilica.
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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank
A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.
The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.
The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.
Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.
The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.
