A professor of Social Dimensions of Sexual Reproductive Health, Prof. Eugene Maafo Darteh, has advised parents and guardians to be mindful of the mental health of their children.
He noted that parents often times fail to pay attention to the emotions of their children since issues regarding the area are less spoken about and usually taken lightly.
Out of 28 million Ghanaians, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 2.3 million persons have a mental health issue and require mental health care. Out of the number, only 2% of them receive care and assistance from psychiatric services. Further, a study conducted in 2019 in Ghana indicates that 12–27% of primary school-aged children have emotional or behavioural issues with 20–29% of high school students saddled with mental health issues.
Speaking at the 56th Awards Day of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) Basic School, Prof. Darteh, who is also the Dean of Students’ Affairs of UCC, indicated that issues of mental health among children often go unnoticed and could become a precursor for full-blown mental health problems in the future.
He cautioned parents against unhealthy comparisons over their children’s academic achievements and advised them to understand the spate of academic growth of their children and spur them on to make reasonable gains.
“If you should check my reports for my first few years in basic school, I was not a good student. My first three years in secondary school were bad and my first semester in the university was also bad but determination and hard work gradually saw me to this point. So, know the strength of your child and encourage the child to improve” he advised.
Prof. Darteh also noted that it was important for parents to allow their children engage in physical activity to improve on their overall health.
“It should not only be watching of television, using tablets and the likes. Allow them to engage in other physical activities that will help them get active and generally improve their health” he added.
A pupil of the school receiving an award from the headteacher, Mrs. Georgina Aglobitse
The 56th Awards Day of the UCC Basic School saw deserving students being awarded for their hard work.
Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC
There is also the University Interdenominational church childcare facility, which can be accessed by staff and students at the University of Cape Coast. The preschool facility is on the church's premises at the University of Cape Coast North Campus (Science)
The 3rd International Conference on Education Research For Development in Africa (ICERDA) which aimed at re-examining the challenges of education in Africa and to find solutions through research has been held at the University of Cape Coast (UCC).
The conference was on the theme, “Repurposing the Global Development Education Agenda for Africa's Future". The conference also focused on the learning crisis discourse in Africa and how legacies of colonial and post-colonial education continue to hamper progress, silencing and contributions of local researchers, actors and practitioners.
Participants of the three-day conference which opened on Tuesday, September 19, 2023 presented and shared best practice on sub-themes such as Technology, STEM, Educational Leadership, Educational Finance, Teacher education, and Curriculum development.
The conference was organised and coordinated by UCC in collaboration with the Centre for Study of Global Development (CSDG) and The Open University, UK.
Prof. Rosemond Boohene
The Pro Vice-Chancellor of UCC, Prof. Rosemond Boohene, in her address at the opening ceremony, said the education development agenda of Africa had been shaped by global factors and organisations without much contribution from African education scholars, researchers, and policy makers.
According to her, the prognosis in many research outputs and review of education performance often painted a depressing deficit in education performance leading to prescriptions that often ignore the deep-rooted challenges that could be traced to the legacy of colonial education.
She admitted that "there is very little discussion on what is working in the African context that is based on insights from African researchers and their analysis and the interpretation of the auction challenge."
Some participants in the conference
Prof. Boohene, therefore, urged participants to focus on African dialoguing and finding solutions through research in Africa and for Africa.
"We expect that as educators and researchers, you will have the opportunity to network, explore and learn exciting and innovative ways of finding solutions for promoting the education agenda for Africa's future," she added.
Mr. George Werner
A former Minister of Education in Liberia, Mr. George Werner, who treated the topic, "Addressing the Learning Crisis in Africa: Time to Reclaim the Narrative," said school infrastructures were impediments to ensuring quality education.
However, he commended to development partners the need to secure funding to tackle the challenges facing the education sector in Africa.
A Representative from ICERDA, Prof. Kwame Acheampong, observed that the goal of ICERDA was to create a unique space for new and established education researchers to meet regularly to disseminate research that inspires policy makers to take action to improve the quality of education for all Africans, especially the disadvantaged and marginalised.
Notable among the dignitaries at the event were officials from Centre for Study of Global Development; The Open University, UK; Registrar of UCC, Mr. Jeff Onyame; Provosts, Deans from UCC and other Universities as well as educationists across the world.
Two students from the Faculty of Law, University of Cape Coast participated in the 32nd edition of the Christ of Heyns African Human Rights Moot Court Competition from September 3 - 9 at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
The Faculty of Law, UCC Moot Court team placed 7th in the Anglophone competition. The team that represented UCC were Ms. Daula Mohammed and Mr. Abdul-Aziz Osman level with Mr. VanBoven Swanzy-Essien as their coach.
Some of the students with dignitaries after the event
Ms. Daula Mohammed, one of the Oralists from UCC, was also adjudged the 10th best from 98 Oralists.
The students are in Level 300.
A total of 62 Faculties of Law from 17 African countries participated, comprising 2 Lusophones (Portuguese speaking), 11 Francophones and 49 Anglophones.
Overall, Kenyatta University finished as the winners with Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Moot Court team as runners-up.
Source: Faculty of Law
The Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience (ACECoR), has handed over two 4×4 brand new Nissan Navara pickups to the Procurement Section and the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit of the University of Cape Coast (UCC).
The vehicles, which were each purchased at a cost of GH¢ 670,000, were meant to assist in the day-to-day running of the beneficiary offices.
The presentation of the vehicles, assembled by Nissan in Ghana, was done at the forecourt of the Emmanuel Addow Obeng Central Administration on Friday, September 15, 2023.
The donated vehicles for the two offices
Making the presentation, the Director of ACECoR, Prof. Denis Aheto, said the gesture formed part of the Centre’s commitment to support the activities of the University.
He said the two offices continue to play crucial roles to support the growth of the University, stressing that that the vehicles would motivate their staff to discharge their duties to the best of their abilities.
Prof. Aheto entreated the beneficiaries to ensure that the vehicles were not only maintained but also used for the intended purpose.
He seized the opportunity to thank management of the University for its continuous support to the ACECoR Project.
The Registrar of UCC, Mr. Jeff Onyame, who took delivery of the vehicles, said the donation was timely and very much welcomed.
Cutting of tape to unveil the vechicle for Procurement Section
On behalf of the management of UCC, he thanked ACECoR for the donation which he noted would go a long way to support the operations of the beneficiary offices.
Mr. Onyame said management alone could not provide all the logistics to units, sections and departments of the University and appealed to other internally generated entities in the University and other corporate bodies to emulate the example set by ACECoR.
The Registrar urged the beneficiaries to pay particular attention to the proper maintenance of the vehicles to prolong their lifespan.
The Head of the Procurement Section, Mr. Nicolas Ampofo, on his part, expressed gratitude to ACECoR and added that the donation was a confidence booster for the two offices to do more for the University.
He assured the Registrar and the management of ACECoR that the vehicles received would be put to good use and properly maintained.
Present at the presentation were the Provost of the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Prof. Moses Eghan; the Dean, School of Biological Sciences, Prof. Aaron Tettey Asare, Director, Consular and General Services, Mrs. Alberta Yaa Graham, Director of Public Affairs, Major Kofi Baah-Bentum, a section of staff from the Central Administration and ACECoR.
Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC
Final-year students of the Department of Vocational and Technical Education (VoTEC) have been advised to monetise the skills and knowledge gained from their field of training.
The Board Chairman of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) Enterprise, Prof. Kwaku Enning, who gave the advice, implored the students to take the entrepreneurial skills acquired from the Department seriously to set up their own businesses and desist from the attitude of searching for non-existent jobs after school.
"Monitise the skills and knowledge that your lecturers have sacrificed over the years to transfer to you and create jobs for yourself. You are all potential entrepreneurs," he added.
Prof. Enning offered the constructive advice at a farewell forum organised by the Department at C. A. Ackah Auditorium 900 on the theme: " Life After School".
He admonished them to make integrity their hallmark and endeavour to always do the right thing.
"You could be first class material but if you so not have integrity you cannot survive on the job market. Your integrity will take you very far," Prof. Enning emphasised.
He decried the high incidence of quest for money and wealth among the youth, stressing that life was not all about money, riding in flashy cars and underserved fame.
He, therefore, counselled the students to shun the get-rich quick attitude and uphold the virtue of hard work in all their endeavours.
Prof. Enning appealed to the students to cultivate the habit of saving to enable them get access to capital to invest for the future.
Above all, he encouraged the students to entrust their daily lives into the hands of God, asking them to remain faithful and obedient to God even in the most trying moments of their lives.
A lecturer at the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management-UCC, Dr Phanuel Wunu, advised the students to acquire soft skills and added that it provided an added advantage in developing one's chosen careers.
He encouraged them to engage in voluntary activities to acquire opportunities to gain valuable working skills while developing important social skills.
A lecturer at the Department of Guidance and Counselling-UCC, Dr. (Mrs.) Sylvia Eyiah Bediako, took the finalists through the topic: " Marriage and Relationship."
In a short remark, the Head of the Department of VoTEC, Dr. Patience Danquah Monnie, expressed gratitude to the facilitators for giving nuggets of wisdom to the final-year students and urged the students to put up a good attitude, while preparing for the next phase of their lives.
Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC
Traditional authorities have been called on to support government in the country’s fight against illegal mining, colloquially known as “galamsey”. This appeal was made by a Historian of Ghana and the Environment at the University of Cape Coast, Prof. Kwame Osei Kwarteng.
He described as deeply disturbing the massive degradation of the vegetation and pollution of rivers and streams through galamsey and said traditional rulers owe it a duty to themselves and posterity to protect the forest and water bodies.
Prof. Kwarteng made the observations while delivering his inaugural lecture on the topic: "The Ideological Square: A Historian’s Framework for Environmental Conservation.”
Among others, he said government could not fight the menace alone without the involvement of traditional rulers, customarily regarded as custodians of land, and therefore, appealed to them to support government in ensuring a galamsey-free country.
Prof. Kwarteng with the College of Professors-UCC after his robing
To him, if traditional leaders desist from leasing lands to illegal miners, including Ghanaians and foreigners, it would be very difficult for the miners to access lands to carry out their nefarious activities.
He maintained that galamsey operators, especially ‘the Chinese’, had resorted to the use of heavy machinery, mercury and cyanide in their operations, causing life threatening health challenges to many people.
He stated that river bodies and streams were now rendered unfit for drinking and a typical example, according to him, was the River Tano. He noted that government working in concert with Nananom should factor in traditional conservation strategies into the planning of towns.
“The Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority and Nananom should maintain the buffer zone of hundred metres or more between river bodies and settlements,” he said.
A section of participants in the inaugural lecture
To conserve and preserve the environment, Prof. Kwarteng asked traditional overlords to destool sub-chiefs who blatantly engage in indiscriminate sale of lands to illegal miners.
He advised traditional rulers to remain resolute and refuse signing indentures for mining leases that do not provide comprehensive environmental impact assessment.
Prof. Kwarteng, however, charged chiefs to report illegal miners to the security agencies to make sure that all offenders were dealt with by the laws of the land.
Prof. Kwarten being congratulated by the Manwrahen of Oguaa Traditional Area, Nana Kweku Enu. Looking on are other chiefs who graced the occasion.
He called for the useful Akan customs, practices and laws such as Awukudae and Akwasidae which had functionally degenerated over time, in order to maintain its legitimacy and reverence in the Ghanaian society to protect the environment.
Profile: Prof. Kwame Osei Kwarteng
•Born in 1965
• Had his primary and middle education at Gyetiase Local Authority Primary School and the Mim Methodist School
• Attended Ahafo Secondary Technical School and was later transferred to Sunyani Secondary School for both the Ordinary and the Advanced levels.
• Gained admission to UCC to pursue a Bachelor of Arts Degree and Diploma in Education in History and Religious Studies.
• Taught as a professional teacher at Kumasi Senior High School from 1992-1999
•Had M.Phil at UCC
•Appointed as Assistant Lecturer at UCC in 2001
•Had his PhD at the University of Birmingham, UK.
•Served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of Mfantsiman Girls' SHS at Saltpond from 2012-2017
•Currently serving as the Chairman of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA)
• Led two separate teams of academics to write the History of UCC in 2022 for the celebration of its 60th anniversary and the History of Ghana Heritage Conservation Trust in 2023 for the celebration of the organisation's Silver Jubilee
•Currently, a member of the newly- constituted Governing Board of Ghana National College.
•Supervised and trained two PhDs and eight MPhil students at the Department of History-UCC.
•Until October 2017, he served as President of University Teachers Association-UCC and a member of the UCC Governing Council.
•Appointed as Full Professor in 2019
•Appointed the Provost of the College of Humanities and Legal Studies in 2022
• Married to Mrs. Comfort Osei Kwarteng and blessed with three children: two ladies and a gentleman
•Staunch Christian and a member of the Harvest Chapel International Church
•Delivered Inaugural Lecture on the topic: "The Ideological Square: A Historian's Framework for Environmental Conservation."
Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has out doored the country’s first integrated data repository, the Statistics Bank (StatsBank). The platform is to empower policy makers, professionals and students to ensure that data-driven decision-making become more inclusive and widespread across the country.
The high-level Academia-based launch of the GSS StatsBank and Hackathon, held in collaboration with the Department of Population and Health of University of Cape Coast (UCC), will enable users to tap into disaggregated data from census and surveys of the GSS.
The StatsBank also has over 350 million statistics, including indicators from the 2021 Population and Housing Census and a comprehensive set of macro-economic indicators.
Presenting an overview of the StatsBank, Government Statistician, Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim, there was the need for Ghanaians to think about initiating data sets aimed at solving the complex challenges facing the nation.
“No single data source can help us solve the problems we face. It’s now compelling for all of us to think about bringing together data sets to help solve the complex changes that we have” he noted.
Government Statistician, Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim speaking at StatsBank Launch at UCC
It was against this backdrop that Prof. Annim indicated that the GSS built the StatsBank to integrate different data sets to guide policy decisions, whilst de-emphasizing data aggregates.
He said the Service was of the belief that high sensitivity characterizing disaggregated data had taken proactive measures to protect the privacy and confidentiality of information from people and organisations.
The Government Statistician expressed keen interest in the micro-data dissemination policy and said the GSS would sign an MoU with UCC in the not too distant future.
He underlined the relevance of UCC’s data to complement and validate GSS’s work.
He commended students of UCC for participating in the hackathon competition that was aimed at raising the awareness of students about StatsBank, while creating avenues and opportunities for collaboration, mentorship, and team building in their academic and career fields.
For his part, the Head of the Department of Population and Health, Prof. Kobina Esia-Donkoh, expressed gratitude to management and board of the GSS for the initiative.
He said the StatsBank would help students acquire data readily to promote multi-disciplinary research in the country.
During the launch, Mr. Simon Tichutab Onilimor and Ms. Edem Titsriku, Data Scientists from the Statistical Service, demonstrated to the audience how the StatsBank system could be navigated.
The official launch ceremony also witnessed winners of the UCC 2023 StatsBank Hackathon Competition receive awards. The overall winner, Great Minds, received a cheque for GHS 5,000, the first runner-up team, Badwenba, was awarded GHS 2,000 and Team Robust Research, took the third position with GHS 1,000 cash prize.
Some dignitaries in a group photo with winners of the UCC 2023 StatsBank Hackathon Competition
The launch was chaired by the Provost of the College of Humanities and Legal Studies, Prof. Kwame Osei Kwarteng.
Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC
The Vice-Chancellor of University of Cape Coast (UCC), Prof Johnson Nyarko Boampong, has participated in the China-Africa Cooperation for Development Conference which was organised by the Centre for International Knowledge on Development (CIKD) in Beijing.
The event was held from the 29th -30th August, 2023, was attended by high profile personalities from several sectors of the economy in Africa and China. Also in attendance were diplomats from the Arab Republic of Egypt, Republic of Burundi, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Algeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Nigeria, Cameroon, Mozambique, Uganda, United Nations, several businesses from China as well as Economic and Educational Think Tanks from across the globe.
The conference was chaired by ZHANG Laiming, Vice Minister of the Development Research Center of the state Council of People Republic of China (DRC) and Chief Vice President of CIKD.
Participants in the forum discussed several topics, including the Belt and Road initiative and China-Africa development cooperation, Industrialization, urbanization and Inclusive Development-with a focus on digital economy, infrastructure, agricultural development, inclusive growth among others, as well as the South-south cooperation and common sustainable development.
Key International Participants from China and Africa at the Conference
Speaking at the event, the Vice-Chancellor pointed out that education remained a critical area that was worth mentioning within the China-Africa cooperation. “As I speak, the University of Cape Coast is one of the few Universities in Africa that has a Confucius Institute for the study of Chinese language and culture. And I must say that since the establishment of this Institute, the bond between Ghana and China is growing deeper”.
He further stated that “…there are indeed a lot more areas of development cooperation that we are yet to fully explore. Africa still has a lot of untapped potential - not just her natural resources, but also in her human capital. Africa has incredible human talent in her youth.”
According to the Vice-Chancellor, what was needed to unearth the untapped potential was a commitment by development partners such as China to come to the table with a commitment to have a win-win dialogue towards a shared future that is based on mutual respect for one another.
For this to happen, Prof. Boampong said, “China and Africa must continue to dialogue. This dialogue must be based on our collective interests taking into cognizance our varied socio-cultural and political circumstances”.
A delegation of the Association of African Universities at the Beijing Foreign Studies University
As part of the visit to China, the Vice-Chancellor joined his colleagues; Prof. O.B. Kehinde, Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokota, Nigeria and the Secretary-General of the Association of African Universities, Prof. Olusola Bandele Oyewole to attend the unveiling ceremony of the Chinese Secretariat of the China-Africa Consortium of Universities Exchange Mechanism on the 31st of August, 2023 at the Beijing Foreign Studies University.
Prof. Boampong also held discussions with the President and a team from the Beijing Foreign Studies University to collaborate with the University of Cape Coast in the areas of education studies and languages. A Memorandum of Understanding was also signed between UCC and Zheijang Normal University to collaborate in research, student and faculty exchange, staff and development through short courses, curriculum exchange and development as well as joint degree programmes. However, the emphasis of the collaboration will be in the area of education studies and educational research with the view of forming an educational think-tank focusing on China-Africa higher education.
The Vice-Chancellor was accompanied by the Dean of the Office of International Relations, UCC, Prof. Samuel Bert Boadi-Kusi.
Source: Documentation and Information Section/OIR-UCC