Category: Uncategorized

The government, through the Ministry of Education, has committed seed money of GH¢3 million to the Public Library Endowment Fund.

According to the Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the move was expected not only to promote reading and learning among the people but also enhance the Ghana Library Authority’s (GHLA’s) drive for Ghana to become a reading nation.

The establishment of the fund was announced at the launch of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the authority yesterday.

The Public Library Endowment Fund is a strategic move by the GhLA to get people to make monetary donations that will enable the authority to create a legacy for the future.

As part of the launch, the authority also inaugurated the Accra Central Library Conference facility which has a lounge, a multi-purpose room with workstations and a conference room with a seating capacity of 200

Learning nation

“The Ministry of Education envisages Ghana as a learning nation, and that is the only way we can develop,” Dr Prempeh said.

“In fact, there is evidence that nations without any natural resources are better nations than those who have them. This is because the more endowed you are with natural resources, the less you use your brain.

“There is also a saying that if you want to hide something from a Black man, you put it in a book. This is because it is believed that the Black man doesn’t read. We don’t want Ghana to be part of this curse, and that is why we have to support the GhLA to push the agenda of making Ghana a reading nation,” he added.

Commendation

The minister commended the GhLA for the successes it had chalked up over the years.

“I grew up around a library where I spent much of my time borrowing books to read, but I couldn’t understand why all the libraries we had were in a very deplorable state. But now through some initiatives by GhLA boards, the authority has been revived from bones to life,” he said.

According to Dr Prempeh, the GhLA had, over the last four years, witnessed significant transformation through policy reforms and strategic initiatives.

First of all, he said, library services had been digitised to allow online public assess where library users could search for a collection of books without going through any difficulty.

Change

The Chairperson of the GhLA Board, Dr Helena R. Asamoah-Hassan, explained that the organisation had gone through decades of dormancy as a result of dependency on only the government for funding its activities, such as research, capacity building, technology, infrastructure development and book purchases.

She pointed out that the government alone could not sufficiently provide all the needs for the smooth operation of public library services in the country.

“That is why the GhLA is establishing this endowment fund to have a lasting impact on the public library system in Ghana. We are seeking to mobilise philanthropic capital to support its growth and sustainability,” she indicated.

History

Tracing history, Dr Asamoah-Hassan said the public library system had played a significant role in the lives of many prominent individuals who had contributed to the development of the country.

 “Let us allow our future generations to benefit from public libraries and let’s establish this fund to create a permanent stream of income that will benefit generations to come,” she said.

Source-Graphic Online|Date: Oct – 13 – 2020 , 12:19 BY: Joshua Bediako Koomson & Fredrick Daoyenikye

The Swedru Teachers’ Co-operative Credit Union (STCCU) has made a cash donation of GH₵1,000 to the 57-year-old woman who took part in the just ended Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

Madam Elizabeth Yamoah, a mother of four children, was among the final year students of the Agona Odoben Presbyterian Basic School ‘A’ who wrote the final exam at the Agona Odoben Senior High School (ODOSCO).

Madam Yamoah, a member of the STCCU, has also been appointed Ambassador for the union’s Youth Savings Account to embark upon on sensitisation to inculcate the habit of saving among students from the primary to the senior high school level.

Rationale

At a short presentation after the exams last Friday, the acting Manager at the Breman Asikuma branch of the STCCU, Mr Shad Nii Kotey Djanie, said the gesture was to motivate Madam Yamoah who, despite her age defied all odds to complete junior high school (JHS)

According to him, although she was vilified by some members of her immediate society for opting to go back to school instead of being at home to take care of her children and grandchildren, hence the union’s decision to support her for achieving such a feet.

He noted that the objective behind the assistance was to enable her to engage in a profitable venture to improve her living standard while awaiting the release of her results and Senior High School placement.

‘This is a start-up capital to enable you to engage in petty trading while at home which would go a long way to better your life before going back to school to acquire SHS education” he indicated.

He noted that the union would officially unveil her as the ambassador for the Youth Savings Account next month during the celebration of the union’s golden jubilee anniversary in Agona Swedru.

Take education seriously

Mr Djanie admonished the youth to take their education seriously and remain focused so as to achieve their individual aspirations to contribute to the growth of their families and the nation as well.

“I wish to urge the youth to take great inspiration from Madam Yamoah and realise that with great determination and perseverance, one would always be able to achieve his or long cherished dreams” he pointed out.

He advised the youth to avoid acts that had the tendency to truncate their academic pursuit in order to become useful in the society, stressing “I wish to admonish the youth to overcome all distractions in order to achieve their aspirations in life”.

Recipient

For her part, a highly elated Madam Yamoah, expressed gratitude to the STCCU for the kind gesture as well as her ambassadorial role and pledged to discharge the role to achieve the intended objective.

She said but for the untimely death of her father, which compelled her drop-out of school in class four, she would have aggressively pursued her childhood ambition of becoming a professional nurse.

He added that even if she is unable to acquire tertiary education, she would be able to speak fluent English after completing SHS which would enable her to contest in the district level election to become assembly member for her electoral area in the Asikuma Odoben Brakwa District.