Category: Education

The Kwabre East Municipal Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), as part of the annual Citizenship Week celebration, has taken education on democratic governance to selected basic schools in the Municipality.

With the approach of ‘Catching them young’, the Directorate has been engaging the children on the importance of embracing democratic governance and discharging their civic responsibilities as future leaders.

The goal is to inculcate a sense of nationalism and Ghanaian values in them as they transitioned into adulthood as a way of strengthening the country’s constitutional rule which has been practiced for the last three decades.

The annual Citizenship Week is celebrated by the NCCE to highlight the successes of the Ghana’s democratic governance while reminding the citizenry of their role in sustaining the gains.

This year’s celebration is focusing on sensitising basic school pupils on their responsibilities as children and the role they could play in building a strong, vibrant and sustainable democracy as a country.

It is being celebrated on the theme : ’30 Years of Consolidating Constitutional Democracy and Building National Cohesion: Role of the Ghanaian Child.’

In all, the Directorate has visited 40 basic schools to sensitise them on their civic responsibilities with emphasis on core Ghanaian values that could shape their lives.

Resource persons made up of technocrats and other prominent personalities mentored the pupils on good citizenship.

Mr. Nazif Mohammed Sadisu, the Municipal Director of NCCE, said children had critical role to play in building national cohesion as potential leaders.

He said it was important to instil values such as discipline, respect, love, kindness, compassion, honesty, tolerance, and kindness among others to nurture them into responsible citizens.

He advised them to stay away from all forms of social vices both at the school and community levels in order not to derail their future ambitions.

Achieving their future ambitions, he said, depended on what they did today and stressed the need for them to concentrate on their education and also observe their civic duties as children.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Angolan head of State João Lourenço has authorised the expenditure and formalisation of the construction and equipping of Infrastructure for the Higher Institute of the eastern Moxico province.

According to a Presidential Order n.º 120/23 reached ANGOP this Friday, the president also authorised the expense and formalisation for the opening of a limited tender, by prior qualification, for the Provision of Consulting Services for the Inspection of the above Contract.

The president delegated this power to the minister of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation to sub-delegate the approval of the parts of the tender procedure.

It is also the responsibility of minister to appoint the Evaluation Commission to check the validity and legality of all acts carried out within the scope of procedure, including the celebration and signing of the corresponding contracts.

In another Order, the President of the Republic also authorised the expense and formalisation of the opening of the simplified contract procedure for the conclusion of contracts for the rehabilitation and inspection of the EN260 National Road, in the Luzi/Cassamba/Cangamba section, in the municipality of Luchazes, eastern province of Moxico.

The President delegates the responsibility to the Minister of Public Employment, Urban Affairs and Housing, with the power to sub-delegate, for the practice of all decision-making acts and supervisory approval, including the celebration and signing of Contracts, which will get external financing

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)

Long-term strategic plan going until 2050, currently under public consultation, provides for step-up of digital education and expansion of literacy in the field.

In order to achieve this goal, the Government defends the implementation of digital literacy programme for teachers and equipping primary and secondary schools with computers and internet.

The government assured that the plan will be implemented through partnerships with internet service providers and adapted to curricula.

This initiative will ensure the inclusion of introduction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for the development of digital skills and apply new pedagogical methods that promote creativity and innovation.

The government plans to include, by 2050, the learning of digital skills in the programmes of all courses and plans to equip higher education institutions with computer facilities and internet access, as well as to make curricular content available in digital format.

The plan also covers the implementation of technology parks, associated incubators and centres of innovation and skills development, promoting the wider dissemination of digital skills and digital innovation.

Increasing teachers’ digital literacy

The government also announced plans to create a digital literacy programme, offering teachers short courses to develop skills that enable them to use digital technologies and platforms.

The plan includes online training, communication and pedagogical activities as well as virtual teaching methods.

The Long-Term Strategy also includes the use of online training platforms for the continuous instruction of higher education teachers and the creation of a “Virtual University” in Angola.

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)

The Portuguese government will double, as of next academic year, the number of scholarships for bachelor’s and master’s degrees for Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP), announced Monday in Luanda Province, the Prime Minister of Portugal, António Costa.

António Costa, who is on a 48-hour working visit to Angola, was speaking during a press conference, which was also attended by the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço.

Without informing the current number of scholarships, particularly for Angola, the Head of the Portuguese government said that there is a 30% increase in the value of the scholarships, which will translate into an increase in the scholarships granted to Angolan students at Portuguese universities.

Regarding higher education, António Costa said that his government will continue to invest in the Portuguese School of Luanda and also in the development of branches outside the capital.

“We’ll make investments in order to serve a greater number of students who want to follow the Portuguese curriculum”, he stressed.

In the presence of the two dignitaries, as part of António Costa’s visit agenda, on Monday Angola and Portugal signed 13 new legal instruments in the sectors of finance, fisheries, construction, staff training, public administration and the port.

Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Sao Tome and Principe are part of the PALOP countries

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)

Seychelles’ Ministry of Education and the Colombo International Nautical Engineering College (CINEC) have signed a renewed memorandum of agreement (MoA) to further improve safety, efficiency, and competency within not only the maritime sector, but also the fisheries sector of Seychelles.

The agreement was signed by the education minister, Justin Valentin, and the president of the CINEC Campus, Ajith Peiris, on Tuesday.

CINEC has been collaborating with the ministry for the past 10 years, and through this agreement, Seychellois cadets and Seychelles Maritime Academy (SMA) lecturers have had the opportunity to attend training programmes at the SMA on Mahe Island and the CINEC Campus in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The academy offers cadets certifications across varying levels in navigation and seamanship, fishing science and technology, and marine mechanics, in addition to several other short courses.

During the short signing ceremony, Peiris outlined that CINEC “brought Seychelles into the IMO [International Maritime Organisation] whitelist and that means international recognition of Seychelles’ Certificates is now in place.”

“Our next step is to make sure that the Certificate of Competency issued by Seychelles becomes a reality, which is expected to come into effect, in about 3 months. This certificate is internationally recognised, meaning Seychellois can sail on any other foreign ships and bring more foreign exchange to this country,” said Peiris.

Valentin said that the renewal of the agreement is a commitment that the government is making to the youth of the country in terms of development in the maritime sector.

Peiris further added that CINEC is now shifting activities to expand into the fisheries sector of Seychelles and getting involved in developing programmes and training in the port sector. He outlined that at the moment, tug masters are receiving further training to handle ships more efficiently and competently.

Through the training, CINEC wishes to bring more professionalism into the fisheries sector, especially when it comes to rules and regulations.

The fisheries minister, Jean Francois Ferrari, who was also present at the signing, outlined that the first link between CINEC and SMA was more geared toward training Seychellois youth to work on tankers.

“At the ministry, we want to make a shift to now include fisheries, yachting, and activities in the port. SMA has also accepted to provide more practical short courses,” said Ferrari.

The shore-based shipping industries expected to benefit include logistics and supply chain management.

The first MoA with CINEC was signed on August 30, 2013, and has since been renewed every three years. The last agreement, which expired in December 2022, was extended to cover part of 2023 until this agreement was signed.

Source: Seychelles News Agency

The Cameroon Teachers Trade Union, CATTU in collaboration with the Cameroon Education For All Network, CEFAN have begun initiatives for effective school resumption in the North West region for the coming academic year.

The initiative started recently with the engagement of some stakeholders in Bamenda on back-to-school campaigns and how the population can be convinced of the importance of education.

During a focus group discussion in Bamenda chaired by the regional coordinator of CATTU, Semma Valentine, in the presence of personalities like representatives from state institutions, entrepreneurs, quarter heads, media personalities, and others.

The come together according to them, is a follow-up to a survey carried out by CEFAN in 2021 on the impact of the crisis on education in the region.

During the event, the various stakeholders discussed the various techniques and advocacy strategies that can be delivered to increase the awareness campaign for back-to-school in the crisis-hit region.

Participants were grouped and back-to-school messages were crafted. They also proposed better ways how to protect education in the region.

According to Semma Valentine, the project is also aimed at shaping government policy and increasing the number of children who will go back to school by September.

“We came here today to brainstorm and see how we can build our capacity in terms of advocacy and accountability for quality education and massive back to school,” Semma Valentine said.

Semma added that the proposals will be made as a report and sent to the government for study and implementation.

While revealing the shocking statistics of children who dropped out of school as a result of the crisis, the Regional Coordinator also challenged parents in the region to send their children to school.

“We are crying out loud to parents that we cannot continue holding back the education of our children. While the crisis is on, I don’t think we should continue standing in the same spot. Education cannot wait, we must send our children to school,” Semma added.

In the end, participants endorsed the initiative to yield results come September. Gambo Rekeatu just like many others promised to take the message back to their communities.

Source: Cameroon News Agency