During the election campaign, then-presidential candidate for the NDC, John Mahama, pledged to absorb fees for all Level 100 students within the first 120 days of assuming office.

Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu reaffirmed this commitment during his vetting, stating that the government would ensure refunds were issued to students who had already paid their fees for the 2025 academic year.

“We intend to provide that money to the affected universities, at least to make refunds to all those who have already paid those fees,” he said.

However, despite the allocation of GHS499.8 million for the policy’s implementation, the government has now ruled out issuing direct refunds for this academic year.

Speaking on JoyNews’ NewsNight, Deputy Education Minister Dr. Clement Apaak explained that instead of receiving cash reimbursements, students’ accounts would be credited toward their second-year fees.

“The same students are going to be continuing. Rather than the physical reimbursement, going forward, as they go into their second year, what should have come to them to defer their academic fee for the first year will become a credit, which will then mean that as they go to second year, they wouldn’t have to pay because they have already paid for their first year,” Dr. Apaak said.

He emphasized that, for accountability reasons, the funds would be disbursed directly to the universities, not to the students.

“This approach helps us avoid logistical challenges and any potential impropriety,” he added.

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Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem morning show, he stated that these desks would serve as hubs for promoting tourism and creating job opportunities for the youth.

“We are trying to get a tourism desk at Legon because Legon itself is a whole tourism attraction. When people visit the campus for conferences, we need to take them to key tourist sites,” he stated.

He added that similar desks would be set up at the University for Development Studies (UDS), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), and other universities.

“If we are able to do this, we can create more employment opportunities for the youth,” he noted.

Professor Mensah noted that their strategy aims to employ about 200 young people within the tourism sector by 2027.

Beyond the university tourism desks, he disclosed that GTDC is working on a major initiative called the “Ghana Tourism Marketplace” in collaboration with the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA).

“This will be one of the most ambitious tourism marketplaces ever. If we succeed, we can create numerous job opportunities and generate millions of dollars in revenue,” he said.

He stressed that the project is geared towards boosting domestic tourism and addressing unemployment, which he described as one of the biggest challenges facing the government.

“Our focus is to create employment spaces through tourism, and we are committed to making that happen,” he concluded.

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Some 21 years after he completed high school, Van Vicker has bagged his first Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies.

Not only did he graduate with a first class honours, the refined actor etched his position as the Best Communication Student from his batch, as well as the Best Student in Strategic Communications.

On why it took him so long to enter the university, Van Vicker painfully recounted how he could not enroll in 1997 because his single mother did not have the funds.

He said had free Senior High School existed back in his days he would have been part of the 2000/2001 year group.

With B/A in the bag, Van Vicker is hopeful of completing his Masters program this December, and he is motivated and committed to go even beyond.

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The ranking, according to U.S. News and World Report, is produced to provide insight into how universities compare globally so that prospective students could make the best choices.

 It, therefore, focuses specifically on the institution’s academic research and overall reputation. The overall best global universities rankings encompass the top 1,500 institutions spread across 81 countries. 

With a global score of 42.4, KNUST had a global reputation for research of 1,044, regional research reputation of 21. It also obtained 1,572 publications, 1,189 books, 1,444 conferences, 33 normalisation citation impact and a total citation of 1,0409.

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In addition, KNUST attained 949 percentage of total publications that are among the 10 percent most cited, 381 International collaborations – relative to the country, and 15 International collaborations. This latest ranking projects KNUST as the best University for teaching, learning and research in Ghana and West Africa as a whole. 

The first step in producing these rankings, which are powered by Clarivate Analytics Incites, involved creating a pool of 1,599 Universities that is used to rank the top 1,500 schools.

 The second step is to calculate the rankings using the 13 indicators and weights that U.S. News chose to measure global research performance.

Each of the 1,500 top-ranked university’s profile pages on usnews.com lists the overall global score as well as numerical ranks for the 13 indicators, allowing students, academics and university leaders to compare each university’s standing in each indicator.

These indicators include; global research reputation, regional research reputation, publications, books authored, conference papers, normalised citation impact, total citations, number of publications that are among the 10% most cited, percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited, international collaboration – relative to country, international collaboration, number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited in their respective field, percentage of total publications that are among the top 1% most highly cited papers, and general reputation.

The U.S. News & World Report is a multi-platform publisher of news and information, which includes; annual print and e-book versions of its authoritative rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools and Best Hospitals in the World.

 The 86-year-old organisation based in Washington D.C. is in the business of ranking and evaluating universities based on their research performance and its ratings by members of the academic community around the world and in its region. 

According to the university, their interdiction will allow for further investigations into the matter.

In a statement signed by the Director of Public Affairs, Stella A. Amoa, the university said: “In line with university regulations, the two will be invited by the Anti-Sexual Harassment Committee in the next few days to assist with further investigations into the BBC documentary.

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“In all instances where the university has been provided with information and/or evidence of sexual harassment or misconduct, our Anti-Sexual Harassment Committee has investigated the matter, interviewed the parties involved, and after making a determination, we have applied the appropriate sanctions as outlined in the policy, including dismissals.”

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Below is the full statement: RE: BBC DOCUMENTARY ‘SEX FOR GRADES’ UNDERCOVER  IN WEST AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES

The University of Ghana’s attention has been drawn to a BBC documentary entitled ‘Sex for Grades’ Undercover in West African Universities fully aired in the evening of October 7, 2019.  We would like to state unequivocally that the University places great importance on issues of sexual harassment and misconduct, and condemn any of such acts.

Given that commitment, the Business and Executive Committee of the University has taken a decision to interdict Prof. Ransford Gyampo and Dr. Paul Kwame Butakor, the two lecturers featured in the documentary to allow for further investigations into the matter.

 In line with University regulations, the two will be invited by the Anti-Sexual Harassment Committee in the next few days to assist with further investigations into the BBC documentary.

While the University of Ghana believes sexual harassment is fundamentally about exploiting power imbalance and voicelessness, we also understand the harmful impact it has on individuals, families and institutions.

It is for this reason that the University has taken steps to encourage students and employees to report any form of sexual harassment and misconduct, and has also instituted measures to punish anyone found guilty of the offence.

In all instances where the University has been provided with information and/or evidence of sexual harassment or misconduct, our Anti-Sexual Harassment Committee has investigated the matter, interviewed the parties involved, and after making a determination, we have applied the appropriate sanctions as outlined in the policy, including dismissals.

 The University will prosecute the current matter under investigation, in addition to all outstanding cases before the Committee.

We would like to state emphatically that the University of Ghana does not and will not shield any employee or student found to have engaged in sexual harassment or misconduct.  No member of the University is considered above the law.

The University would like to assure all members of the university community, including students, employees, our stakeholders and the public that it will continue to actively fight against sexual harassment/misconduct, and other acts of indiscipline.

Further, to assure members of the university community and the public that the University of Ghana will use the existing structures to handle all matters of sexual harassment and misconduct, while protecting the rights of the victims.

Meanwhile, members of the University community are reminded of the provisions of the Anti-Sexual Harassment Policy, and also encouraged to report any acts of sexual harassment and misconduct accordingly.

 To facilitate this process, additional communication channels  have been created;

 Telephone: 050-736-8053 Email: hearmystory@ug.edu.gh

Stella A. Amoa

Director of Public Affairs

October 8, 2019

Submitted by:  Public Affairs

Source: Adomonline.com

This comes shortly after Boniface Igbeneghu, who is also a pastor, was suspended by his church.

There has been an outcry on social media after a report by BBC’s Africa Eye revealed secret footage of Dr Igbeneghu propositioning and sexually harassing an undercover reporter, posing as a prospective student.

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The Foursquare church, where the lecturer was also a pastor, said in a statement it does not condone sexual misconduct, and has distanced itself from Dr Igbeneghu’s alleged behaviour.

The BBC report is part of a year-long investigation into sexual harassment by professors at the University of Lagos and the University of Ghana.

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The University of Lagos says it has a zero-tolerance policy toward sexual harassment, and it would dismiss any staff against whom evidence of wrongdoing was proven.

The University of Ghana categorically denies protecting any staff or students who have engaged in sexual harassment, and says it will investigate those named in the report.

Dr Igbeneghu has not commented on the video.

Source: BBC

After gathering dozens of testimonies, BBC Africa Eye sent undercover journalists posing as students inside the University of Lagos and the University of Ghana.

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Female reporters were sexually harassed, propositioned and put under pressure by senior lecturers at the institutions – all the while wearing secret cameras.

Reporter Kiki Mordi, who knows first-hand how devastating sexual harassment can be, reveals what happens behind closed doors at some of the region’s most prestigious universities.

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Source: BBC

The Wa and Navorongo campuses of Univerity of Development Studies (UDS) were recently made autonomous through an Executive Instrument.

The Wa campus, in the Upper West Region, which was formerly called the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies has been renamed ‘Simon Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies’.

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Passage of the bill was done through voice voting late Thursday evening but Minority MPs, who had kicked against the proposal to change the name, abstained.

Minority MPs had threatened to walk out when the bill was introduced arguing that the introduction of the bill has been done “through the back door.”

Simon Diedong Dombo was a Ghanaian politician, teacher and king who belonged United Party (UP) tradition.

The UP tradition gave birth to the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) that the Majority MPs belong to.

Simon Dombo was a Member of Parliament and the Parliamentary Leader during the First Republic of Ghana.

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As the Douri-Na, he was reputed to be the first educated chieftain in the Upper Region of Ghana.

He was also one of the founders of the Northern People’s Party that subsequently merged with the United Party.

During the Second Republic, he was a member of the ruling Progress Party. He was Minister for Health and then Minister for Interior in the Busia government. He had more than 30 children.

However, he was banned from holding elected office by the Supreme Military Council prior to the 1979 elections.

Source: Myjoyonline.com

In July 2014, under the leadership of the then Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey, the University of Ghana entered into a contract with Africa Integras, a private investment company with headquarters in New York, to construct five buildings for the university on a Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis.

The project was to consist of the construction of an expanded facility for the College of Humanities, a complex for the new College of Education, a new building complex for the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, a complex to house the Institute of Technology and Applied Science and a building for the College of Health Sciences to aid the university in relocating the medical school to the UG campus from its present location in the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

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The project was structured as a 25-year Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) contract but when the leadership of the university changed in January 2016, the new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu sanctioned the project, citing issues with viability and favourableness with the project contract.

The $64 million infrastructure project then came to a standstill due to the disagreement between the current Vice-Chancellor (VC) and his predecessor over the viability of the project.

The matter then went for arbitration in London.

UG lose at London Arbitration
Graphic Online has gathered that the Arbitrator in the dispute between the University of Ghana and the project developers in what is generally described as the “Africa Integras project”, made a definitive and binding ruling in London on August 2, 2018.

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The ruling is said have dismissed the two claims by the University of Ghana and awarded termination costs of more than $160 million to the project developers.

The Arbitrator is said to have rejected the UG argument that the Concession Agreement signed by the two parties was not enforceable.

The University of Ghana had sought to present the agreement as not being enforceable, claiming that its own procedures followed in preparing the Concession Agreement were flawed and did not follow due process.

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The Arbitrator is said to have found nothing wrong with the process followed in preparing the Concession Agreement and concluded the project had been approved by the University Council in July 2014.

The ruling in London delivers a huge image blow to the University of Ghana and possibly a major financial loss to Ghana.

He said the upgrading of the Diploma in Basic Education (DBE) to the Bachelor of Education (B. Ed) degree, from October this year, would help equip teachers with the requisite skills and knowledge to improve performance and promote quality at the basic education level.

Prof. Occansey was speaking at the second graduation ceremony of the Untrained Teachers Diploma in Basic Education (UTDBE) at the St. Monica’s College of Education at Asante Mampong.

He said the Institute of Education was currently developing a new curriculum that would be used for the training of students in all the 46 public colleges which were going to be converted into universities.

Mrs Christina Sobotie, Principal of St. Monica’s college advised the graduates to exhibit the quality training they had acquired in the classroom and aspire to be all round disciplined teachers.

She urged them not to be content with their current certification but embark on continuous professional development and enrol on the new Bachelor of Education programme in order to be abreast with emerging trends in education.

Mrs Sobotie said inadequate academic staff as one of the major challenges facing the College.

She appealed for additional staff to ease pressure on the existing ones and also improve the quality of education delivery in the school.

The injunction affects all four satellite campuses of the university in Kumasi, Mampong, Winneba and Ajumako.

The court at a hearing Tuesday, granted an injunction request by a former Assemblyman Kofi Kwayera who has argued against the legality of the University’s Council.

He has said the council’s term of office expired in 2013 and therefore asked that the Vice-Chancellor and other senior members of staff be restrained from exercising their duties.

The presiding judge upheld the reliefs being sought by the plaintiff pending the final determination of the case.

In response, the university in a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer Steve Kamassah directed campuses of the University to be closed until the hearing of the substantive case on Friday.

The exact relief sought by the former Assemblyman includes;

A declaration that the extension of the mandate of the Governing Council of the 1st Respondent by the 2nd respondent to stay in office to perform such functions as a properly appointed council was in breach of Section 8 Act 672.

A declaration that all decisions taken by the defacto body of persons who constituted themselves as Governing Council is null and void and of no effect.

A declaration that the contracts awarded to Sparkxx Gh Ltd, Paabadu Construction and C-Deck, were done in breach of the Procurement Act (Act 663).

A declaration that all payments made to Lamas Ltd were done without the express written consent of the Ghana Highway Authority, and in breach of the Memorandum of Understanding and same must be refunded.

A declaration that the illegally appointed Principal Officers of the 1st Respondent willfully misappropriated public funds by failing to put to public tender for the construction of the North campus road and thereby causing financial loss to the state.

Thousands of graduates risk their certificates rendered invalid if the court goes on to give judgement in favour of the plaintiff represented by Effutu MP Afenyo Markin in whose constituency the university is cited.

All decisions including signatures of the governing council on certificates could be invalidated if the plaintiff’s suit finds favour with the court.

Carson Huey-You was among more than 2,000 students getting degrees Saturday at the Fort Worth school founded in 1873. He started at TCU in 2013 when he was 11. He also has minors in Chinese and math.

Huey-You tells the Fort Worth Star-Telegram his favorite thing about college has been getting to learn things he never thought about, things he never knew existed and things he might not even think about thinking about.

He also says he’s learned how to deal with “some real hard classes” and get over the disappointment of a poor score on a test.

The self-described “normal dude” wants to work on getting graduate degrees in quantum mechanics.