The Directorate of Physical Development and Estate Management (DPDEM) in collaboration with the Training and Development Section has organised a two-day training programme on Construction Health and Safety Management for staff of the Directorate.

The training programme is aimed at providing staff of the Directorate with requisite skills and knowledge to ensure safety at the work place. In addition, it would equip them in Occupational Health and Safety with requisite skills and knowledge to successfully complete projects without significant injuries and damage to properties. Participants would also be taken through legal requirements on construction safety in Ghana.

In his open remarks, an Assistant Registrar at DHR, Mr. Isaac Adom-Konadu, who represented the Director of Human Resource, said the workshop would equip them with knowledge and skills to carry out their work without getting involved themselves in accident at the construction site. He said the University would continue to safeguard the welfare of staff, stressing that “Management will create a conducive working environment for all categories of staff to ensure that they derive job satisfaction”.

Mr. Adom-Konadu called on participants to take the training programme seriously to enable them educate their other colleagues in the Directorate. He was optimistic that the training programme would have positive impact on their work to benefit the University.

On his part, the Director of DPDEM, Mr. Philip Ntim, said Health and Safety, was a critical issue in the working environment. He said most organisations, especially the construction, mining and oil and gas industries have policies on Work and Safety that regulates how staff perform their duties.  “It helps workers to carry out their work perfectly without causing harm to them,” he indicated.

Mr. Ntim said health and safety was very important in UCC’s setting, because most of the renovation and construction works were done in-house and there was, therefore, the need to enforce some guidelines to protect life and property. He appealed to participants to make good use of the available resources, like crash helmet, safety boots and uniforms to avoid accidents at the working environment.

Mr. Ntim said a dirty environment was an indictment on the workers, saying “the working environment tells a lot about the attitude of the workers and their supervisors so the construction site should not expose people to harm or danger”.  He noted that a good health and safety policy meant increased productivity but most organisations considered the implementation of the policy as very expensive. He said the Directorate would develop a template to check the working environment after the workshop.

The Centre for Gender Research Advocacy and Documentation (CEGRAD) has organised a seminar for students of the University Practice Senior High School (UPSHS) as part of its outreach activities.

The seminar was aimed at sensitizing the students on issues of gender, drug abuse and pornography.

Opening the seminar, the Director of CEGRAD, Dr. Genevieve Adukpo, said the mandate of the Centre was to facilitate the promotion of women’s rights and gender equality in the University Community and also embark on outreach programmes to both public and private organisations. She said students of UPSHS have been attending programmes of CEGRAD and therefore, it was important for the Centre to also reach out to them at their premises.

Dr. Adupko said the presentations at the seminar would equip the students to help them in their development adding that “We want you to be responsible adults so this interaction will give you some form of exposure and knowledge on how to relate to each other”.

The Assistant Head, Domestic of UPSHS, Mrs. Rosemary Dare, said management of the school was poised to groom the students to become responsible leaders of the nation. She however noted that their efforts to realise this aspiration has come under serious threat because of negative practices like drug abuse, pornography, occultism, same sex activities among others which some of the students  have been found to be practicing.

Mrs. Dare thanked CEGRAD for coming to the School’s assistance through the seminar noting that “discipline is a shared responsibility”.

Delivering a presentation on Basic Concepts in Gender, Ms. Amanda Odoi of CEGRAD, said roles assigned to gender determined the categorical difference between male and female. According to her, one’s gender could attract different social recognition from one culture to the other. “Gender comes with needs that are either practical or strategic” she stated.

A senior lecturer at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, UCC, Dr. Georgina Oduro, in her submission on Gender and Sexuality said sexuality had to do with identity, orientation, belief systems, and cultural values among others.  She said, it could also refer to socio-cultural, biological or sexual preferences, stressing that “these inform the meaning we give to sexual behaviour and sexuality goes beyond sex”.

On the sources of sexuality, Dr. Oduro stated it could be acquired from different sources including school, work, peers, religion, social media, movies, music, and fashion. She advised the students to understand changes in their bodies, explaining that “at the adolescent stage you may be tempted to engage in unhealthy sexual practices”.

Dr. Oduro called on the students to confront the realities by approaching a professional counsellor when they face any difficulty as far as their sexual life was concerned. She said unhealthy sexual lifestyles may lead to several reproductive health issues which may lead to Sexually Transmitted Infections, Cervical Cancer “Psychologically, you will be going through the trauma of getting pregnant, it may also cause disability like obstetric fistula and the social consequence is poverty” she explained.

Dr. Oduro warned that most relationships at the adolescent stage did not end in marriage so they should concentrate on their studies. She urged the students to use their time productively, set goals for their lives and stand out as responsible individuals to achieve great things after their education.

Taking the students through the Psychological Effects of Pornography, Occultism and Substance Abuse, Dr. Michael Anim, said a survey he conducted in a particular city in Ghana involving 700 youth portrayed that most of them were engaged in watching pornography. He explained that pornography has to do with writings, images, sounds, speeches, words about prostitute and prostitution.

Dr. Anim said marijuana, cocaine, tramadol and other hard drugs attack the conscious areas of the brain and produce certain psycho-social effects which make the body behave abnormally. “Such individuals don’t have meaningful life; they are too anxious, feel isolated, uncontrolled and feel stressful in life,” he noted.

Dr. Anim further noted there were some influential people in society who normally lure the youth into such acts. “They use strategies like brainwashing and indoctrination to entice you into same sex, pornography, drug abuse and other unhealthy lifestyles,” she explained.

The University of Cape Coast Basic School has emerged the overall winners of the 5th Edition of the University Basic Schools Sports Association Games.

UCC Basic School won five out of the nine trophies to beat the University of Ghana Basic School which placed second position in the games with four trophies. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology placed third with University of Mines and Technology taking the fourth position.

The four-day event was on the theme “Developing a Disciplined Personality through Sports, the Role of UBaSSA”.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, commended the coaches, athletes for the sterling performance in the various events. He said that education was not only about academics, noting that “sport is also an integral part of education and it helps in the physical development as well as unearthing the talents of the individual”.

Prof. Ampiah congratulated all the participating schools and indicated that “in the spirit of competition, we’re all winners”. He stressed on the need to provide adequate financial assistance to sustain the UBaSSA games. He gave the assurance that UCC Management would support sports development in the basic schools. 

The head of UCC JHS, Mrs. Kate Frimpong, said there had not been any serious injuries despite the competitive nature of the games.  Mrs. Frimpong expressed gratitude to the referees and judges for performing their duties professionally. According her, sports events such as UBaSSA, were meant to showcase the collective talent of the participants rather than only recognising winners. “A winner exists because someone dared to stand up and lose; for a height there has to be a depth,” she stated.

Explaining the benefits of being a sports boy or girl, Mrs. Frimpong said “sports gives you the confidence and enhances physical productivity and you have the joy of eating well and looking good in your body enclosure.” She urged the athletes to continue to strive for excellence in the discipline they have already displayed during the games. She further wished them success in their future endeavours and express the hope that their talents would be developed fully to the benefit of the nation.

The Directorate of Research, Innovation and Consultancy (DRIC) has held discussions with the Open University of United Kingdom, to find potential areas of collaborations.

The discussion will also pave way for the two Universities to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Again, the partnership, will design an innovative approach to strengthen school leadership for systematic change across Ghana.

The project will examine school leadership preparation, induction, and continuous professional development (CPD) across the existing educational structure. It will research the role and impact of leaders and the contribution of strong school leadership to strenghtening capacity in educational provision and learning attainment. The focus of the project will be on school leadership for learning - championing every child’s learning of foundational skills, regardless of gender, ethnicity and background. It will help strengthen governance and accountability for improved teaching and learning, working with appropriate institutions, especially faith-based organisations and community groups, as key stakeholders in Ghana’s education sector.

The partnership will also facilitate a series of collaborative learning events –fora for change - to generate locally-relevant ideas on pedagogical leadership and school improvement. The project will involve individuals who are key to success by testing, learning and adapting, and working with local reformers to solve problems, with careful consideration of the socio-political economy.

It would be recalled that the Associate Head of School, Dr. Eric Addae-Kyeremeh and the Programme Leader for Taught Postgraduate Studies, Dr. Jane Cullen of OU, last year called on the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, on possibility of entering into MoU with UCC. The visit was part of research collaboration that the two academics were undertaking with Dr. Might Kojo Abreh on “Teacher education via distance education.” Speaking at the meeting, Dr. Jane Cullen said, “The opportunity for an MoU between UCC and OU would provide many avenues for mutually beneficial collaboration: on large-scale projects, joint staff development and developing new pedagogies.”

Present at the meeting were, Research Fellow at Centre for Educational Research, Evaluation and Development (CERED), Dr. Might Kojo Abreh, The Director of CERED, Dr. Mark Amponsah and Dr. Mrs. Marie Efua Bakah and Dr. Michael Boakye-Yiadom both of the Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (IEPA). Others were Associate Head of School (Innovation):Education; Childhood, Youth and Sports of Open University, Mrs. Millicent Aning-Agyei of DRIC, Senior Institutional Fundraiser of International Development Office of Open University, Tom Bartram, and Director of Institute of Education of UCC, Prof. Frederick Ocansey.  

Credit: Henordzi Junior (Intern)