AFTER 53 YEARS OF THE AU, WHAT HAS BEEN THE RESULT?

The African Union, formerly known as the Organization of African Unity is 53 years. Since its formation by 32 member countries in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the union has gone through a number of changes, ranging from change of name to increase in membership.

The AU's objectives as set out in its Charter, are to  among other things promote unity and solidarity of African states; coordinate and intensify their cooperation and efforts to achieve a better life for the peoples of Africa.

The vision of the AU is: “An integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.”

The question one may ask is, has the Continental organization been able to achieve its aims and objectives taking into consideration its charters, protocols, agreements, treaties and regulations? The answer is an obvious no.

For instance, one of the major challenges that is currently facing the AU is how to fight the insurgence of militants who have risen against its member countries. Despite the numerous security meetings by its leaders, the AU has still not been able to draw any concrete plan of action towards fighting the menace. It is baffling why the AU has not put in place a standby force up to date. It is not strange to wake up everyday to hear of the activities of these unscrupulous organizations which go a long way to affect lives and property on the continent thereby lowering productivity.

One other challenge facing it is youth unemployment. Youth unemployment on the continent as compared to others, is of great worry to many and this if not properly taken care of could become a major security threat.

 When it comes political decision making, one will describe the approach of the AU as reactive rather than proactive. It was disturbing that the AU appeared indecisive on the post election violence in Cote d'Ivoire and the overthrow of  Col. Muammar Gaddafi of Libya. The AU is noted to always wait for countries outside Africa to take action on matters affecting its member states before it comes on board or even sit aloof  whiles things fall apart.

The operations and activities of the AU are hardly made known to its citizens. As of June 2014, the AU has 50 treaties, conventions, protocols and charters. These are  meant to affect the lives of its people, but almost all of these documents remain on paper.

It is estimated that by 2030, there will be roughly 24.6 million people entering the job market in sub- Saharan Africa annually. This growth represents two- thirds of the world's entire workforce. Out of this, more than 63% are expected to be people below 35 years.

In 2006, the AU Heads of States and Governments endorsed an African Youth Charter, in Banjul, the Gambia. This document came into force in 2009 and is to span to 2018. This document is meant to address among other problems, youth marginalization, unemployment, illiteracy and crime, but as of today,  it remains on paper with no visible outcome.

How can citizens build a prosperous Africa when major decisions that are made are not properly communicated to them or when their involvement in making and implementing such decisions is negligible?

An AU that is 53 years should be the one that educates its members on what is expected of them through proper communication.

For an effective AU, its leaders must walk the talk, they must get busy getting results rather than putting together just documents, they must be bold to call their members to order when the need be. They must be proactive towards finding solutions to the political, socio-economic, environmental, and the security challenges that confront members countries.

Prosper Dzitse
Ghana's Youth Ambassador to the Commonwealth

MAKING EDUCATION WORK (2):

Why is Schooling Like Playing a Football Game?

I don't watch football and I can hardly claim to know the best football teams in the world. Actually, I doubt if there is a decidedly best team as that usually depends on who is doing the evaluation, what their basis is and which teams they support. So Hearts of Oak supporters will never agree that Kotoko is the best team in Ghana's Premier League and the other way around is also true. Same way Man U supporters will disagree if you tout Chelsea as the best; neither will Real Madrid supporters ever take it that Barcelona plays better than their team.

But even with my layman football lenses, I can tell which team plays good soccer when I watch a football game. The passes, ball possession, crosses etc define the quality of the game. However is the quality of football a team displays on the field the yardstick for making them win or lose the match? Absolutely not. It is the team that scores the most goals which wins the match.

This is exactly how our educational system is run in Ghana. Indeed, it appears to be the case in many places across the world. There tends to be too much emphasis on examinations. This is to the extent that nobody counts unless they are able to pass exams. I had a friend in primary school who was very good with drawing. We used to pay him with food, biscuits and other provisions to draw pieces of art for us and he could draw practically anything, his imaginations were wild and intriguing and his drawings were brilliant. But he was not so good in class and eventually fell in the cracks and could not continue. Why? Exams.

There are several of such stories that I can recount from various levels of schooling and that is just me. Thousands, even millions of such memories are there with people everywhere. Our educational system is structured in such a way that people's talents are hardly recognized let alone harnessed; students are only as good as the grades they make in exams.

The point has always been made that examination especially as it exists in our schools does not test the holistic abilities of students. Most often, students are tested on their ability to memorise and reproduce to obtain marks. That is why students mainly concentrate on passing their exams in school and not necessarily on acquiring knowledge and this in turn explains why most will complete school without knowing exactly what they learnt. They didn't learn to know or to apply but to pass exams.

In order for our educational system to work, there is the need for us to de-emphasize exams and focus more on skill building. The current orientation plays a huge role in the non-performance of the educational system. In other words, even if the curricula at the various levels are changed, there will be little improvement if emphasis is still on the "Chew-Poor-Pass-and-Forget" mode of assessment of students.

There have been oft-repeated calls - in the context of the discussion on graduate unemployment - for entrepreneurship to be added to the school curriculum. I usually find such calls ridiculous because anything added to the curriculum will only add to the pressure on students. So long as the emphasis is on exams, students will make grade A's in entrepreneurship and still end up joining the Unemployed Graduates Association of Ghana. Wonder why I think so?

Take a look at your primary school curriculum and you will find Environmental Studies; you probably scored 100% in that subject every term but you still drop plastic material indiscriminately without knowing what damage that does to the environment. You might have learnt (no, chewed and poured) several definitions of corruption in a lot of social studies textbooks in JHS and in SHS but you still give bribes and at the least opportunity, you plunder other people's resources to your own advantage.

The point is that as long as exams remain the top priority, students hardly learn. Content is not imbibed. Most of the time, it is only memorised and reproduced because that is what is rewarded. Skills are neither rewarded nor potentials developed.

In much the same way that a football team is only as good as the goals it scores in a game, students are  only as good as the grades they make. If a team does not score enough goals in a season, it drops out of the league. Likewise, if a student does not pass as many exams as are required, they drop out of school.

School cannot work if it is run like a football game.

Hardi Yakubu

Also check out the following

MAKING EDUCATION WORK (1): Merge Technical Training with Mainstream Education

WINNING THE FIGHT FOR QUALITY EDUCATION: LOCALIZING THE GLOBAL VISION

THE TOXIC TRIANGLE: HOW RELIGIOUS FANATICISM, PARTISAN POLITICS AND DISHONESTY ARE DESTROYING GHANA (Part 1)

My late grandfather was a staunch catholic. His love for catholic doctrines was commendable. As a curious young boy, I probed the rationality of many of the doctrines but I was rebuked for “questioning” the authority of God. I grew up in a family where we could not challenge or question the things of God as commanded; “Touch Not my anointed, and do my prophets no harm – 1 Chronicles 16:22, Psalm 105:15”.  This scripture was boldly carved on a wooden plaque in our bedroom.

Fast forward into my university life, I realized I was slowly but surely drifting away from church because of my abhorrence for ambiguous yet unquestionable doctrines in the church. I became a consistent critic of religious dogmatism. In first year, I shared room with four Christian fanatics. They could skip lectures the whole semester with the alibi of attending to ‘spiritual responsibilities’. Though a Christian, I was considered “unreligious’ because I refused to get as deeply involved as they were.

It is very common to see many Ghanaians use religion to escape their responsibilities. Many people complain of hardship but abandon their jobs for long hours of prayer meetings. Many students spend every evening at prayer meetings to the detriment of their books. Pastors are cashing in on many gullible church members. In a synopsis, prayer and church meetings have become full time jobs for many people. The most successful fraudsters use religion as a bait to get to their victims. In my 4 years in Legon, I can recall at least 50 fraud cases involving some “pastors” who duped their victims (mostly females) using false prophecies.

Drive through town and see posters of “Mallams” and fetish priests advertising their illegal activities in the name of religion. Quite surprisingly, the nauseating sight of these posters is yet to provoke an appropriate response from law enforcement agencies. How can we allow people go away with an advert for rituals? 

Is it not ironic, that there is a proliferation of many churches, yet corruption has become pervasive? Can we justify the moral decadence? Despite our Holier than though attitude, we continue to borrow from the same countries that we have condemned as satanic. The USA has endorsed gay rights and Germany has legalized adultery but they continue to flourish whilst we flounder. What is the role of religion in our quest to develop?

Many of us spend the most productive hours of the day on religious activities. The craze for religion without principles is becoming too much. Take a tour to the Achimota forest, Sarbah field, Aburi Mountains and some of the known prayer camps during working hours and you will be amazed at the number of people praying for prosperity but working for nothing. There are disturbing videos of pastors physically abusing the vulnerable but the Christian Council has been loudly silent.

It is dangerous, very poisonous for our generation to place faith in religion when even the Holy Scriptures support hard work and innovation. I dare say, we have become an extremely lazy generation that expects to reap where we have not sown. The subject of religious dogmatism must be given meticulous attention.

Self-styled prophet Obinim has been trending, this supposed man of God has verbally abused people in the past, captured on tape physically abusing a pregnant woman and engaged many unethical things in the name of religion. Sadly, he is just one of the many “pastors” who are carrying out indecent activities in the name of religion.

Quite disappointingly, the Christian council is only able to condemn politicians for indecent acts when they have a bug in their own home. How long can we accept such height of irresponsibility because we are afraid to offend the so called religious people?

Religious fanatism is destroying the moral fibre of our society.

Eric Edem Agbana

Founder of United volunteers Network and former SRC President, University of Ghana 

WINNING THE FIGHT FOR QUALITY EDUCATION: LOCALIZING THE GLOBAL VISION

As the world prepares to rally around a new set of goals to improve lives and protect the planet, we must be ready to own the Seventeen goals and localize them to fit our situation so as not to wander in the wilderness of global efforts to ensure fair distribution of development. All Seventeen of the Sustainable Development Goals which have been adopted by the World leaders are relevant but I believe at the core of all these is the non-negotiable need for our leaders to make quality education accessible to all children.

Prior to the 2012 general elections in Ghana, Education was at the heart of the campaign promises, a development I consider as positive and an improvement in the trend of our political campaigns. Education is undoubtedly the key to the development of Ghana and indeed any other country.

Education is the most powerful catalyst for development in the years ahead, serving as a bridge from Poverty to Prosperity, from deprivation to abundance, from diseases to good health. Education provides the surest guarantee to achieving all the other priorities of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Ghana’s educational sector continues to receive attention from successive governments but as to the question of sufficiency, the quality of our education sector gives a mirror reflection of that. Free and compulsory education, though essential, may not be enough to ensure that all children of school going age are actually in the classroom. We still see thousands of children on the streets when they should be in school, thousands of children are in the farms helping their peasant parents and guardians. Educational initiatives must leave no one behind – not the poor or disadvantaged, and not the rural child.

While applauding government for introducing 200 Community Day Senior High Schools to address the issue of access in some remote areas, it is important to lay bare the facts that children in most rural communities are still struggling to even receive standard education at the Primary and junior High school level. Beyond getting children into school, efforts must be made to ensure the quality of the education they receive. Setting targets based on quality rather than quantity will be difficult but not impossible. WE CAN DO IT.

As we embrace the Sustainable Development Goals, we must double our efforts in the area of education.  Experts estimate that providing for a proper education system requires at least 5% of a country’s GDP and usually about 20% of public spending. I sincerely doubt if Ghana has the capacity to sustainably undertake such expenditure without completely neglecting other critical sectors. For the time being, relying on development partners remains an option and we must make frantic efforts to get more investors and philanthropists into the sector.

District assemblies must also localize the vision of attaining quality education. The central government alone cannot facilitate the attainment of the vision. Civil Society Organizations and all other partners must augment government’s efforts. For many of my friends and me, our lives testify how access to education can transform lives hence our resolve to Advocate and Volunteer towards improving education. There is a transformative power in Education. ACCESSIBLE QUALITY EDUCATION is the PILL to cure POVERTY, DISEASE and INEQUALITY.

 ERIC EDEM AGBANA, founder of the United Volunteers Network and a former SRC president at the University of Ghana.

edemagbana@gmail.com, www.volunteersnetworkgh.com

THE VISA MIRACLES AND THE DESPERATE JOURNEYS TO THE WEST

I chanced upon one of the nation’s prominent men of God on his usual television program. I watched with great admiration as he performs several miracles: the blind could see, the lame started walking and the diseased were healed. There were several others who gave testimonies about the Goodness of our Lord and other miracles that they experienced in their lives; Indeed God is able to exceed our expectations in all the things we desire of him. However, a particular testimony which was received with great applause from the congregation troubled me; it was the testimony of a woman in her thirties (I guess) who narrated how she has been given an American Visa after several rejections at the Embassy. According to her, the visa came only after she visited the church for prayers. Praise the Lord!!!

Unlike the cheering congregation, my soul was troubled because I could not fathom why a congregation will rejoice over a Visa to travel outside one’s mother nation. The mood of the congregation means that given the opportunity, most or even all the members of the congregation would travel abroad, a disturbing trend.

Unfortunately, this particular incident is only one in a million. Travelling outside Ghana has become trendy especially for the youth of Ghana. Most young people believe they can only become successful by seeking greener pastures outside the boundaries of our country.

A tour to the American Embassy and some other embassies and high commissions within the capital reveals how desperate Ghanaians are towards leaving Ghana. As early as 3 a.m., one could spot a long queue in front of these embassies in a desperate attempt to acquire a travelling visa. It is therefore not surprising how the officials of these embassies treat Ghanaians disdainfully. Those who are unable to go through this hassle resort to using unapproved routes to fulfill their travelling ambitions. 

The dangers of using these unapproved routes do not even scare them. Several lives have been lost in the process. Many migrants from Ghana make the dangerous journey through the Brazilian Amazon through Colombia, Panama and Mexico. Many of them lose their lives but it is not deterring enough for many desperate youth.

Currently, there is a huge deficit in the nurse to patient ratio not because the country does not produce enough nurses but because most of them leave the shores of Ghana just after receiving their training. The same can be said of doctors and some other professionals. Interestingly, most of them use these enviable professional qualifications to do menial jobs that they will never accept here in Ghana.

Undoubtedly, the economic conditions of Ghana are not as rewarding as those of these developed countries but it is time we recognize the fact that Ghana is our home country and no one can build Ghana for us except ourselves.

We need to reorient ourselves, we need to brace ourselves up to the task of building our country. Americans built America to be what it is today, it took leadership to make China and Singapore what they are today. We have the capacity to do same and make Ghana a home for Ghanaians.  I wish above all things that we all embrace the challenge of building a Ghana that we can be proud of. The youth must use their ingenuity to water the grasses here so that our own pastures will be greener. I look forward to a day when acquiring a visa won’t be a miracle.

Successive governments have demonstrated commitment towards investing in improving infrastructure and other social amenities. There have been several youth development policies such as Youth Enterprise Support Fund, Youth Employment Agency and many more. Certainly, we should be able to take advantage of the opportunities that abound in the country and we will surely be heading towards prosperity. Young people must be encouraged to stay here and contribute to the development of our homeland.

I believe in Ghana, I believe in the ability of the Ghanaian youth.

Eric Edem Agbana,

Founder of the United Volunteers Network and a former SRC president at the University of Ghana

edemagbana@gmail.com,  www.volunteersnetworkgh.com

MAKING EDUCATION WORK (1)

         Merge Technical Training with Mainstream Education


There is almost a consensus that the educational system in Ghana is not working. This is a fact too obvious to require further proof as there are things glaringly showing this, not least of all the increasing spate of graduate unemployment.

Employers have had cause to complain about the pervasive mismatch between the knowledge graduates acquire and the needs of industry. Worse still, there is little or no innovative skill content to produce people who are capable of creating their own businesses. At the same time, those who are unable to progress to the tertiary level can hardly do anything meaningful with the knowledge they acquired in basic or Senior High School.

Many have attributed this to the grammar-type education being offered under our educational system. But the real tragedy is that even those who complete technical or vocational education find it difficult to find jobs. We can say that this is because there are generally no jobs, which is a truism. But why can't such people turn their vocational or technical skills into jobs  for themselves? There are definitely some factors that make skilled individuals incapable of making jobs out of their skills. The most important of such factors is the over-emphasis on examination - chew, pass, poor and forget. I have written about this in the past before and shall write more extensively on it in the future.

For now, let's concentrate on the aspect of making the educational curriculum skill-oriented. As already intimated, part of the problem is over-emphasis on examination such that even technical and vocational skills education is not seen from the point of view of the relevance of its practicality but rather  from students' ability to memorise the content and pass their exams.

So for instance, at the JHS level, there used to be subjects like Pre-technical skills and Pre-Vocational skills. People got excellent grades in these subjects but can hardly nail two pieces of wood together. Why? Because the emphasis was and has always been on the grades not the skills, partly the reason for lack or inadequacy of equipment for practical training.

The other problem is that these subjects tend to be perceived as "minor" and little attention is paid to them. Even at the Senior High level, those who are admitted to do technical or vocational courses are seen as less intelligent. Beyond the Senior High level, technical or vocational education is usually recommended for people who fail their WASSCE and these schools are seen as some low-grade reserve for low-achievers.

Admittedly, to the extent that these subjects used to be taught and still are being taught, albeit with different names at the JHS level, my idea of merging technical skill training with mainstream education is not necessarily original. It however proposes a new emphasis and a new level of coverage that is beyond the JHS level.

The Idea

To ensure a skill-rich educational content, technical training (Training oo, not teaching) should be done right at the primary school level. The emphasis is on training because the scheme must not be an exam-focused thing. Skills should be related to the everyday needs of Ghanaians families such as tables, chairs, cement works, electronics etc. Pupils should be trained on how to make these basic things at the basic level.

As they progress up the educational ladder, the complexity of things in focus should increase with accompanying increased complexity of training. In other words, whereas training will be on things such as stools, pottery etc at the basic level, more complex equipment like mobile phones, printers, computers should be at the higher level.

At the basic level, training should be all-round on how to make basic articles of wood and metal for home use and specializations should begin to emerge at the Secondary level and these should be the basis for progress to University.

This requires a total overhaul of the educational system to make it more skill-based and relevant. With this kind of education, people will be able to make meaning of their investment in education after every level. Young people who complete Junior High School even if they are not able or don't want to go to Senior High School can use their skills to make a living. Those who complete one level and don't have the financial means to progress to the next level can make money from their skills to help them pay their fees.

With this kind of arrangement, our educational system will not only serve industry with the necessary technical skills, it will also help people make money on their own using their skills. Again, if everyone learns technical skills, no one will perceive technical education as second-rate.


Hardi Yakubu

MAKING EDUCATION WORK (2); Why is Schooling Like Playing a Football Game?

WE MUST ALL HELP IN THE PEACE BUILDING PROCESS.

The activities of nomadic Fulani herdsmen have been with us for more than two decades. Every now and then, we have reports of violent clashes between the herdsmen and their hosts.

The most disturbing of the clashes occur in Agogo in the Asante Akyem  West of the Ashanti Region, and  it has become more or less an annual ritual. The current impasse between the two parties though not surprising,  is certainly unfortunate.

We are told that in a spate of just about two years or so, about 30 people have lost their lives in Agogo as a result of the fulani menace. The recent violence, we are told was triggered  by the death of a 27 year old  Agogo citizen, who was allegedly killed by the fulani herdsmen.

The Regional Security Council must be commended for the timely deployment of security personnel to help contain the situation. Again, the swift action from the acting Inspector General of Police, the Chief of Defence Staff and the National Security Council, by moving to the community to engage the people and reassure them of their resolve to find a lasting solution to the challenge is highly commendable.

Though, statistics are hard to come by, it is estimated that there are about 5,000 or more of Fulani herdsmen in Ghana most of whom are into cattle business.

Having said that, one cannot deny the fact that, not all fulani herdsmen are foreigners, likewise, not all the cattle are brought from outside Ghana. It is an open secret that a number of Ghanaians, including highly influential ones also own some of these cattle and engage the services of the fulanis to take care of them on their behalf. It is therefore not surprising that not much progress has been made in our quest to flush out the fulanis especially from the Agogo area.

Be that as it may, we must approach the fulani menace as a national security matter which must be handled with utmost care.  Proper and thorough investigations must be conducted into the whole saga. We need to know how the fulanis get into the country, who authorises them to settle in one area or the other, and also find out whether or not it is true that some chiefs and opinion leaders are involved in one way or the other.
Until we are able to determine all these ingredients, it will be a fruitless exercise to think of resolving the issue. It is sad that, recently, some youth of Agogo, led by the MP organised a news conference and made all kinds of pronouncements, which more or less amounted to incitement of violence. That was too bad.

We should  commend the regional police command for daring to arrest the MP and his associates for that conduct. Even though the MP and the minority leadership in Parliament,  erroneously want us to believe that the MP is protected by parliamentary privileges. That is certainly not the case, the MP is only immuned against comments he made on the floor of Parliament. Be that as it may, we commend the acting IGP for taking up the matter. Going forward, let us all help the national security task force as they embark on another road map to resolve the matter. This should not suffer the fate of operation cow leg.

We are told that here are efforts to flush the fulanis out of Agogo, but one question that we need to answer is,  to where?

  Already, we have complaints from the Eastern and Volta regions of a surge in the influx of fulanis into their regions. Are we not therefore cutting our nose to spite our face?  Attempting to push them out of the country may not be a good idea as it may have some consequences  for us as a nation and Ghanaian nationals in the neighbouring countries. We should be aware of AU and ECOWAS protocols that we have committed ourselves to with regard to free movement of people and goods.

It is suggested that the best way forward is the creation of fodder banks,  and confinement of the cattle to ensure that they do not stray. By so doing, everyone can leave in peace and go about his or her activities without hindrance.

In this case, the farmers of Agogo will have the peace to farm without destruction from the cattle, and the fulanis will also not have their cattle killed by the farmers. Ultimately, peace will be restored.

Prosper Dzitse
Ghana's Youth Ambassador to the Commonwealth