The Graphic reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, left Ghana on Thursday, November 11, 2021, leading the Ghanaian delegation to the 75th anniversary of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, France.
President Akufo-Addo is attending the anniversary at the invitation of UNESCO’s Director General, Audrey Azoulay.
The United Nations Charter, which came into effect on November 16, 1945, provided for the creation of a specialised agency in the fields of education and culture.
President Akufo-Addo will on Friday, November 12, deliver a statement, at the height of the commemoration, on the impact UNESCO has had in Ghana, and what Ghana expects from UNESCO in the coming years.
The newspaper says that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will on Saturday, November 13, 2021, proceed on a seven-day leave of absence, the Presidency has disclosed.
He is expected to resume on Saturday, November 20, 2021.
This was announced on Thursday by the Director of Communications at the presidency, Mr Eugene Arhin at a press briefing in Accra.
Mr Arhin also disclosed that during his leave, President Akufo-Addo will adjudicate a debate in the French Parliament on November 19, 2021.
In his absence, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia will act as President.
"President Akufo-Addo will from Saturday 13th November to Saturday, 20th November take a much-deserved, long-overdue, seven-day leave of absence during which he has also accepted an invitation to preside over the panel that will adjudicate a debate in the French parliament on the trial of progress on the 19th of November," Mr Arhin said.
"He is expected to come back to Ghana on Saturday, 20th November and in his absence the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, will act in his stead".
The Graphic also reports that the government is providing 3,000 projects across the country to ensure quality education, with 50 percent of them nearly completed.
In the Upper East Region, about 164 educational projects have been undertaken, with 57 percent of them already completed.
The Vice-President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who made this known at the 60th anniversary celebration of the Navrongo Senior High School (NAVASCO) in the Kassena Nankana Municipality in the Upper East Region last Saturday, stated that “the goal of quality education can only be attained with appropriate investment in educational infrastructure”.
The anniversary was on the theme: “Sustaining 60 years of quality education in Navrongo Senior High School: The role of stakeholders”.
The Vice-President said the government had commenced the provision of free Wi-Fi for senior high schools, 46 colleges of education and 13 public universities while 350,000 laptops had been provided to teachers under the’ one teacher one laptop’ policy.
That, he noted, was part of the measures by the government to improve quality of teaching and learning in the country.
Dr. Bawumia further explained that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had responded to some of the specific needs of NAVASCO by initiating the construction of a 12-unit classroom block, 12-seater toilet and two (six-seater) water closet toilet facilities.
“We will ensure that these projects are completed as soon as possible to ameliorate the problems of inadequate infrastructure the school is currently facing. We will also take steps to complete the girl’s dormitory projects that has stalled as part of our commitment to ensuring quality,” the Vice-President further gave the assurance.
According to the Vice-President, NAVASCO has become a national icon.
He added: “It is a great pleasure and honour to be part of this historic event. Sixty years of grace in the life of an individual or an entity is no mean achievement.”
The newspaper also says that the Parliamentary Caucus on Population and Development and the Parliamentary Youth Forum have expressed concern about the high incidence of teenage pregnancy and stressed the need for the country to promulgate laws to curb the menace.
The Members of Parliament (MPs) indicated that the statistics released by the Ghana Health Service that 2,865 girls between10 to 14 years and 107,023 girls aged 15 to 19 got pregnant in 2020 was worrying and called for the urgent enactment of laws to deal with teenage pregnancy.
They particularly noted that to have 2,865 girls between 10 to 14 years getting pregnant when the country has a law that says having sex with a girl under 16 of age is defilement meant that the perpetrators have not been made to face the legal sanctions.
The legislators expressed these concerns at a day’s engagement on teenage pregnancy, family planning and sexual and gender based violence held in Cape Coast in the Central Region.
The engagement, organised by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) formed part of a three-day event to create a platform for a solution-based dialogue among the parliamentarians and adolescent girls and boys on a rapid response to teenage pregnancy and the role of key stakeholders.
In his submission, the MP for Tema Central, Mr. Yves Nii-NoiHanson-Nortey proposed that any legislation to reduce teenage pregnancy, should have a provision that would hold parents whose teenage daughters become pregnant accountable.
According to him, it was clear that lack of parental control and guidance was a key factor in the high rate of teenage pregnancies being recorded in the country.
In a presentation on the situation of adolescent sexual and reproductive health, Mrs. Gifty Ben-Aryee, Programmes Head, Adolescent Health and Development of the Family Health Division of the Ghana Health Service said about 14.3 percent of adolescents in the country have begun child bearing.