Dr Fathia Kareem receiving an award at her graduation

After gaining admission at the Johns Hopkins University, for a master’s degree programme, Dr Fathia Kareem applied for a scholarship at GETFund but was refused two years in a row.

In the wake of government officials being listed as beneficiaries of the fund in a report by the Auditor-General, Dr Kareem, a former student of the KNUST School of Medical Sciences who graduated top of her class with 12 out of 15 awards given out, shared the story on how she had to defer the programme for a Master’s in Public Health in 2018 and 2019.

Speaking in a telephone conversation with Samson Lardy on JoyNews’ ‘Newsfile’, she revealed that she was part of the top three applicants selected for the course from Ghana in 2018, so she was hopeful of getting the scholarship even though former applicants told her it wasn’t going to be easy.

“I spoke to a few people who had applied previously and although the news was not really good because they told me these days GETFund was not giving so much support as they used to but I still decided to go ahead and apply anyway because I felt that even if the funding was limited I felt like was qualified enough to be considered for the scholarship.” She said.

She said she attached a mail received from the Hopkins University to her application with the hope that it will give her a bigger advantage in being considered for the scholarship.

“Over there (John Hopkins University), their mindset was that, in Ghana, Ghanaian students get support from GETFund so getting funding should not be a problem.”

But all that yielded to nothing as she was told that a decision hadn’t been made on applications yet when she followed up about three weeks after submitting it.

She went to the GETFund office after that for further enquiries but secretariat kept delaying till the deadline for commencement of the programme elapsed, as such, she had to defer.

She tried again in 2019 when the Senior Programmes Manager of the John Hopkins University told her some Ghanaian students received funding from GETFund the previous year. He gave her contacts to some of those students who told her how they got it.

“I spoke to about two of them, one of them actually got a stipend but I think two of them got part of their tuition from GETFund. They told me it was a struggle because they had to be going to the [GETFund] offices frequently. For over two months they kept going there, and in the end, they were given the scholarship,” she recalled.

Dr Kareem said she was excited when she received a LinkedIn request from the Education Minister as she was looking for an opportunity to speak to him about her concerns.

Even though she wasn’t she if he sent the request personally or the handlers of his account did it, she still told him about her worries and he, in turn, told her no scholarships were available for studies in the U.S.

He further told her that the selection of beneficiaries was not based only on academic achievements but also the relevance of the course to national development and the non-availability of the programme in Ghanaian universities.

Since she was based outside Accra at the time, her father had to submit her application and also make several trips to the GETFund office to follow up on it but that still didn’t make any difference.

Rather, a staff member of the GETFund secretariat told her father, “it would be better if he knew someone who could bring it directly to the higher-ups at GETFund” and for over six months, he tried without success to get her applications to any senior official at GETFund.

The young medical practitioner had to decline the offer again and planned not to bother reapplying again but another mail from the Dean of Johns Hopkins University encouraging her to re-apply made her change her mind.

“I almost gave up on it…but the Dean of Johns Hopkins University emailed me after I had declined the offer the second time, encouraging me to re-apply. That was the only reason I have actually re-applied, and they have accepted me once again,” she explained.

She’s hoping to be third time lucky.

“So now hopefully, I will submit another application to GETFund. I am not sure how far it is going to go, but it is worth a try.”

The Auditor-General report chronicled the disbursement of scholarships issued to 3,112 people from 2014 to 2018.

About 88 beneficiaries on the list, are Members of Parliament, politicians, media practitioners, lecturers, heads of institutions and associates who went to study abroad.

The report revealed that GETFund unlawfully splashed out more than $4.7m in scholarships to persons who were not needy students.

Deputy Majority Leader, Sarah Adwoa Safo; Education Minister, Matthew Opoku Prempeh and, the son of the Employment and Labour Minister, Ignatius Baffour Awuah were listed among the beneficiaries.

Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang, former Minister for Education

The former Minister for Education under the erstwhile John Mahama government, Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang has urged Ghanaians to celebrate African women who stood their grounds in the face of oppression and who now serve as examples of self-sacrifice.

Speaking as a guest speaker on the theme, “I am generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights” during a symposium organized by the Centre For Gender Research Advocacy and Documentation (CEGRAD) of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) as part of a program to mark the International Women’s Day, the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast highlighted that Ghanaians should celebrate women who stood in the face of oppression and now serve as examples of sacrifice.

This is because some of these ones may be people who do not have voices as seen in our own Ghanaian history, we come across such ones, but they are not honored and celebrated for their resilience and efforts they took in standing their grounds in the face of oppression.

“As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we might wish to congratulate all the people, of course women included; who have brought us this far, from our lack of rights and what remains unfinished business. We must learn to celebrate African women who stood their grounds in the face oppression and who now serve as examples of self-sacrifice” she stated.

She further went on to urge and stimulate the minds of those privilege in society especially women, to fight for the course of other women. According to her, she salutes the struggling everyday woman, who is keeping up a good fight even with their babies strapped behind their back.

“When I see women with babies on their back, a tray of water on their heads, I salute them. They are also a group of people who are strong, doing the best for themselves and who don’t have voices. Those of us who have voices, do we ever use them in their interest too, or we think we have to rather make our voices louder?” she quizzed.

The fight for the respect and enjoyment of basic human rights, like the right to vote and take part in active decision making at governance level is a fight that was started by some feminists in Europe in the 1910’s and has remained till date, further culminating into the celebration of the International Women’s Day.

CEGRAD was established in March 2014, to see to gender issues affecting students and particularly women on the University of Cape Coast campus. CEGRAD also works with the Gender Ministry to help deal with gender issues. The centre is currently handling issues of sexuality at the University Practice Senior High School in Cape Coast as well.

Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang, former Minister for Education

The former Minister for Education under the erstwhile John Mahama government, Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang has urged Ghanaians to celebrate African women who stood their grounds in the face of oppression and who now serve as examples of self-sacrifice.

Speaking as a guest speaker on the theme, “I am generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights” during a symposium organized by the Centre For Gender Research Advocacy and Documentation (CEGRAD) of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) as part of a program to mark the International Women’s Day, the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast highlighted that Ghanaians should celebrate women who stood in the face of oppression and now serve as examples of sacrifice.

This is because some of these ones may be people who do not have voices as seen in our own Ghanaian history, we come across such ones, but they are not honored and celebrated for their resilience and efforts they took in standing their grounds in the face of oppression.

“As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we might wish to congratulate all the people, of course women included; who have brought us this far, from our lack of rights and what remains unfinished business. We must learn to celebrate African women who stood their grounds in the face oppression and who now serve as examples of self-sacrifice” she stated.

She further went on to urge and stimulate the minds of those privilege in society especially women, to fight for the course of other women. According to her, she salutes the struggling everyday woman, who is keeping up a good fight even with their babies strapped behind their back.

“When I see women with babies on their back, a tray of water on their heads, I salute them. They are also a group of people who are strong, doing the best for themselves and who don’t have voices. Those of us who have voices, do we ever use them in their interest too, or we think we have to rather make our voices louder?” she quizzed.

The fight for the respect and enjoyment of basic human rights, like the right to vote and take part in active decision making at governance level is a fight that was started by some feminists in Europe in the 1910’s and has remained till date, further culminating into the celebration of the International Women’s Day.

CEGRAD was established in March 2014, to see to gender issues affecting students and particularly women on the University of Cape Coast campus. CEGRAD also works with the Gender Ministry to help deal with gender issues. The centre is currently handling issues of sexuality at the University Practice Senior High School in Cape Coast as well.

Mawutor Adzahli was murdered on March 1

Residents, family and sympathisers in the South Tongu District of the Volta region are set to hold a vigil in the memory of the late Assemblyman for Sogakope South Electoral area, Mawutor Adzahli.

The vigil will start at 6:30pm on Saturday, 7 March 2020.

Sympathisers will walk from Y junction in Sogakope through major streets within the town, submit prayers at the late Mawutor’s business centre, McGreen Ventures and to finally end at his residence.

The vigil will be observed with a candle light and dirges.

Sympathisers have been advised to be clad in black.

The family and Police are yet to announce a date for the funeral and burial for the late Assemblyman who left behind a little daughter and wife.

The late Mr Adzahli was on 1 March 2020 shot dead by unknown assassins in his private residence.

Hon Sampson Ahi

Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has proposed for the ban of cellphones usage in Parliament.

The Suame MP explained that the decision is contained in the reviewed standing orders, citing situations where members are constantly on phones in the chamber when the house in session.

“Mr. Speaker I believe the house must make a determination and let me emphasize, it’s the reason why it’s been proposed that in the next parliament, once we accept and indeed adopt the reviewed standing orders, no member will be allowed to bring a cellphone in this chamber. We need to demonstrate seriousness in this house. We need to”, he said during a presentation of the business statement.

According to Hon Osei Kyei Mensah, the practice where members focus on their phones to the neglect of proceedings even when the house hosts important guests dents the image of the legislature.

“When the president of the republic is talking members are fidgeting with their phone. When the minister responsible for finance comes here members are fidgeting with their phones. When questions are asked, ministers are providing answers members are fidgeting with their phones. It doesn’t tell a good story about us. Mr. Speaker let’s be very honest with ourselves”, he added.

The issue since it came up, has attracted comments from the members especially minority and the latest to add hos voice is the MP for Sefwi Bodi in the Western North Region, Hon Sampson Ahi.

To him, the move is wrong and amounts to the members being treated as “school children”. He said the minority MPs will resist it.

“We’ll not accept that, we’ll resist that. He [Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu] cannot impose his wishes on us, we are not school children,” Mr Ahi said, adding “it will be voted down.”

Tamale Central MP, Alhassan Fuseini Inusah

Inusah Fuseini who is the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, has called for the scrapping of the Independence Day celebration.

He opines that Ghana is going through lots of challenges and the money used in the celebration could be used in other areas which will affect the lives of citizens positively.

Mr Fuseini who is also the Tamale Central MP says it is time we begin to prioritise to use the money for other equally important activities.

“Sixty-three years should be enough for us to mark the celebration with a day without celebrating it. We are old enough to let go of the celebrations. So on an Independence day, we only mark it. The President can come to the House to talk to us or do something. This country is going through a lot of challenges.”

“Two days ago, I saw them moving all the fuel tanks, the bazookas, and the military hardware to Kumasi. They had rented long vehicles to do that. [Look at] the cost involved. The cost of even getting people at one location to celebrate the day. The cost of even moving the President from Accra to Kumasi. Even if it’s going to be celebrated in Accra, the cost of assembling people.”

“I think that it is time for us to begin to prioritise to use the money for other equally important activities which impact the lives of the people. I just think that we are wasting too much money on funfair while our people are languishing in poverty. And the funfair brings nothing. The celebrations that we are having today is just to satisfy our ego that we were independent on the 6th March, 1957 and it brings nothing,” he told Citi News.

This year’s independence celebration was held at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi, Ashanti Region.

Algeria is worst-affected, with 17 cases, 16 of them in the same family.

Cameroon and Togo confirmed their first cases of coronavirus on Friday, bringing the number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa hit by the epidemic to five.

The outbreak has largely spared that part of Africa so far, but since last month cases have been detected in Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa. North African countries have registered more than two dozen cases.

In the central African country of Cameroon, the health ministry said a 58-year-old French citizen who arrived in the capital Yaounde on Feb. 24 had fallen ill with the virus. It later said the man’s female partner had also tested positive.

“We need to follow his contacts. Our collaborators are on the ground; they are working,” said Health Minister Manaouda Malachie.

Togo said its case was a 42-year-old female resident of the capital Lome who had visited Benin, Germany, France and Turkey in late February and early March. She was in a stable condition.

Since the outbreak began in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December, it has infected 100,000 people worldwide and killed more than 3,000, mostly in China.

It is not yet clear why there have been so few cases in Africa, but case counts are rising. Egypt’s health ministry said on Friday it had registered 12 asymptomatic cases on a Nile cruise ship.

University of Ghana

University of Ghana is set to roll out a freshers-first accommodation policy to guarantee residence for students in their first year.

This was disclosed by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Academic and Student Affairs at the University, Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo in an interview with UniversNews.

She says that the move is intended to prioritize residence for newly admitted students and it follows a recommendation from a committee that was set up to find ways to solve the University’s accommodation challenges.

“When I came into office, there were discussions on the residence challenges concerning accommodation and there was a committee established to look at these issues on how it can be resolved in a short time. There was a recommendation from the committee which suggested that the management should consider prioritizing the fresher’s because they are most vulnerable in numerous cases,” she said.

What does this mean?

With this move, continuing students of the University would lose their residential status at the end of every academic year and join thousands of fresh students to struggle for accommodation on campus.

However, about 50% of the bed stock in both the traditional halls and the University of Ghana Enterprise Limited Halls (Limann, Kwapong, Sey and Nelson) would be reserved for freshers.

Currently, the University of Ghana has space for just about 13,000 students (post-graduates inclusive) on campus out of the over 40,000 students enrolled.

Is this new?

Though sudden, the freshers-first residential policy may not entirely be a new intervention in tertiary education in Ghana.

Before the last decade, the University of Ghana run the in-out-out-in system which provided accommodation to only freshmen and final year students.

That arrangement was however changed in line with the University of Ghana’s Strategic Policy on student accommodation.

A similar system is currently being run in the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology where only freshmen are given residence on campus with continuing students resorting to private hostels at the outskirts of the campus.

Students reaction

Some students who shared their thoughts with UniversNews concerning this decision by University authorities were not happy.

“I really struggled before securing accommodation on campus. The thought of going through it again every year for my remaining three years here is heartbreaking,” one Eric Yeboah told UniversNews

“The University should rather look at solving the situation and not giving us a quick fix. This decision will not yield any proper result and will not solve the accommodation issues on campus,” one Angela Nyarko said