GHANA plays host to the global players in the tourism industry from today to September 27, 2009, which marks World Tourism Day.
Coming a few months after the landmark visit of President Barack Obama of the USA, and in the heat of the celebration of Founder’s Day, the tourism fiesta provides the country with another platform to showcase its tourism potential.
It is an opportunity to demonstrate the obvious that Ghana abounds in some of the finest tourists sites on the African continent and indeed the world, such as forts and castles, beautiful beaches, parks, waterfalls and a land inhabited by very hospitable people of warm disposition.
Ghana stands to benefit significantly if deliberate plans are put in place to fully exploit this immense potential which nature has endowed us with.
At the moment, some bottlenecks in the industry are hindering growth and revenue mobilisation from the tourist sites.
These include too many undeveloped sites, high cost of hotel accommodation, high air fares, lack of access to tourists sites, inadequate internal flights, as well as inefficient car rental system.
Additionally, the business of charter flights which used to be a booming industry a few years back, has virtually collapsed making it difficult for tourists to visit Ghana in their numbers and at affordable rates.
In recent times, tourism has raked in a lot of revenue, coming next after cocoa, gold and foreign remittances.
The potential exists for the tourism industry in the country to become the number one foreign exchange earner, if we work hard to develop the products.
Tourists and especially many foreigners of African descent are willing to visit Ghana to savour the rich culture and warmth of the people. Their only handicap is our inability to market the potential and what the visitors stand to gain.
Sadly enough, anytime that we have tried to promote the tourism industry, we have done it unprofessionally such that we are unable to reap the maximum benefit.
The World Tourism Day in the country is a high-profile event expected to attract delegates from more than 50 countries worldwide.
In marketing our potential in this industry however, we should focus on products for which we have comparative advantage. On many occasions, we have tried promoting products that the tourists are already familiar with and even when we succeed in attracting them into the country, we are unable to motivate them to undertake follow-up visits.
The DAILY GRAPHIC believes that it is a bad marketing strategy for instance to continue to serve foreign dishes at major national events when such a platform can be used to market our rich and nutritious food items.
The DAILY GRAPHIC calls on the Ministry of Tourism to take advantage of this high-profile event which will attract renowned writers and journalists worldwide to showcase the rich cultural values of the country and seek the necessary investments in tourism to create jobs and wealth for the people.
We welcome all delegates to the World Tourism Day celebrations and invite them to savour the best in Ghanaian culture and hospitality.
However, we advise them not to abuse our warm hospitality by engaging in sex tourism or focussing only on what is negative.
The successes and achievements of this country are worth celebrating than the challenges of a growing economy.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
RALLYING TO DEVELOPMENT (SEPT 21, 2009)
TODAY marks two significant events in the history of our dear country. The life, ideals and vision of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, are being recognised as we mark Founder’s Day while Ghanaians join Muslims to celebrate the end of Ramadan, also known as Eid-ul-Fitr.
Kwame Nkrumah stormed Ghana’s political platform with passion to work hard and to empower black people all over the world to take their destiny into their own hands.
The Ramadan represents one of the five pillars of Islam. It is a long period of 30 days in which Muslims renew their beliefs and faith in order to strengthen their resolve to serve Allah better.
Although Nkrumah’s vision and mission before, during and after his Presidency might be unrelated to the teachings of the Muslim faith or any other religion, he stood for the emancipation of the oppressed, which Prophet Mohammed and Jesus Christ espoused.
As we mark these major celebrations, it behoves all of us to revisit these principles in order to learn useful lessons that would position us, especially those of us in leadership, to serve mankind better.
We, as a nation, have come a long way but it appears we are still groping in the dark because we have abandoned the philosophies of Nkrumah and all the great prophets of the major religions of the world.
Presently, the entire globe is extolling the virtues of Dr Kwame Nkrumah. This sounds ironic because unfortunately during his reign as President he was despised by certain personalities, including some of his own countrymen and women.
At a stage in our history, it was even a crime to associate with Nkrumah; the agenda was to wipe out his name from history.
The observance of this day should reassure Ghanaians that anybody who dies serving the country will be recognised.
Unfortunately as we mark this momentous day, there are certain issues that continue to set us apart. These are politics, religion and ethnicity.
Nkrumah’s centenary celebrations should serve as a rallying point for national consensus and unity, as well as developing the culture to tolerate divergent opinions.
The good thing, however, is that the celebration has brought together all political ideologies to celebrate the achievements of Dr Nkrumah.
The Daily Graphic believes that it is in the same spirit of tolerance that the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu, has called on the two factions in the Bawku conflict to come together and live together in peace.
The statement is very important because there is the need for us to build bridges in order to achieve the objectives of building a strong nation.
The reflections of the fasting period, which espouses forgiveness, and the exemplary life of Kwame Nkrumah, who stood for a unified Ghana, are two virtues the country must preach to ensure total development.
The Daily Graphic, therefore, commends the government for declaring the Founder’s Day to give us the platform to celebrate Dr Nkrumah’s personality and his dream for a better Ghana.
Kwame Nkrumah stormed Ghana’s political platform with passion to work hard and to empower black people all over the world to take their destiny into their own hands.
The Ramadan represents one of the five pillars of Islam. It is a long period of 30 days in which Muslims renew their beliefs and faith in order to strengthen their resolve to serve Allah better.
Although Nkrumah’s vision and mission before, during and after his Presidency might be unrelated to the teachings of the Muslim faith or any other religion, he stood for the emancipation of the oppressed, which Prophet Mohammed and Jesus Christ espoused.
As we mark these major celebrations, it behoves all of us to revisit these principles in order to learn useful lessons that would position us, especially those of us in leadership, to serve mankind better.
We, as a nation, have come a long way but it appears we are still groping in the dark because we have abandoned the philosophies of Nkrumah and all the great prophets of the major religions of the world.
Presently, the entire globe is extolling the virtues of Dr Kwame Nkrumah. This sounds ironic because unfortunately during his reign as President he was despised by certain personalities, including some of his own countrymen and women.
At a stage in our history, it was even a crime to associate with Nkrumah; the agenda was to wipe out his name from history.
The observance of this day should reassure Ghanaians that anybody who dies serving the country will be recognised.
Unfortunately as we mark this momentous day, there are certain issues that continue to set us apart. These are politics, religion and ethnicity.
Nkrumah’s centenary celebrations should serve as a rallying point for national consensus and unity, as well as developing the culture to tolerate divergent opinions.
The good thing, however, is that the celebration has brought together all political ideologies to celebrate the achievements of Dr Nkrumah.
The Daily Graphic believes that it is in the same spirit of tolerance that the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu, has called on the two factions in the Bawku conflict to come together and live together in peace.
The statement is very important because there is the need for us to build bridges in order to achieve the objectives of building a strong nation.
The reflections of the fasting period, which espouses forgiveness, and the exemplary life of Kwame Nkrumah, who stood for a unified Ghana, are two virtues the country must preach to ensure total development.
The Daily Graphic, therefore, commends the government for declaring the Founder’s Day to give us the platform to celebrate Dr Nkrumah’s personality and his dream for a better Ghana.
PROTECT INTEGRITY OF OUR EXAMS (SEPT 19, 2009)
ONCE again the country has been rocked by leaks of some question papers of the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The DAILY GRAPHIC is saddened that we do not seem to have a clue to what has become a yearly ritual of examination leaks.
The reported cancellation of the core English Language One and Mathematics paper for the November/December 2009 WASSCE being conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is another blot on the integrity of our examinations at all levels of education.
This problem is multi-faceted. On one hand, there seems to be a cartel of individuals who have made it a point to profit from these examinations with, of course, the connivance of WAEC officials, parents and students.
On the other hand are the students and their guardians who out of desperation would do anything to get examination papers for their wards because they do not believe in working hard to attain success.
In some other instances, we have received reported cases of even personnel from the WAEC being the conduit of these malpractices.
The DAILY GRAPHIC finds it worrying that in spite of all the reported cases of the modus operandi of these criminals, we have each year failed in our collective responsibility to ensure that this yearly ritual becomes a thing of the past.
It is a pity that students who are being nurtured to be responsible citizens in future would want at their tender ages to look for shortcuts to academic excellence.
One wonders what such persons would become in future and whether they will measure up to any task that would be assigned them based on qualifications acquired by fraudulent means.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is deeply worried that the integrity of our examinations will be called to question if steps are not taken to make cheating a high risk endeavour.
We should worry about the integrity of our examinations in the wake of reports that certain universities in Europe and America do not recognise certificates from certain West African countries. Nationals of such countries have found a safe haven in Ghana for their criminals activities.
It is, therefore, a pity that we are beginning to undermine the credibility of our educational system by these fraudulent examination practices.
There is no shortcut to the attainment of academic laurels because academic excellence can only be achieved through hard work.
The DAILY GRAPHIC calls on the WAEC to critically look at all its processes to ensure that there is zero-leak during its examinations because the cancellation of papers causes unnecessary pain to studious students and their parents.
We suggest that from the printers through to the process of administering the questions, there should be a mechanism which can assure us of the soundness of the examinations.
The DAILY GRAPHIC thinks that it is our collective responsibility as students, parents and guardians and educational authorities to do the right thing and also expose the cheats in the system.
Let our students remember that the only path to academic excellence is hard work because those who decide to use shortcuts fail in their endeavours.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is saddened that we do not seem to have a clue to what has become a yearly ritual of examination leaks.
The reported cancellation of the core English Language One and Mathematics paper for the November/December 2009 WASSCE being conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is another blot on the integrity of our examinations at all levels of education.
This problem is multi-faceted. On one hand, there seems to be a cartel of individuals who have made it a point to profit from these examinations with, of course, the connivance of WAEC officials, parents and students.
On the other hand are the students and their guardians who out of desperation would do anything to get examination papers for their wards because they do not believe in working hard to attain success.
In some other instances, we have received reported cases of even personnel from the WAEC being the conduit of these malpractices.
The DAILY GRAPHIC finds it worrying that in spite of all the reported cases of the modus operandi of these criminals, we have each year failed in our collective responsibility to ensure that this yearly ritual becomes a thing of the past.
It is a pity that students who are being nurtured to be responsible citizens in future would want at their tender ages to look for shortcuts to academic excellence.
One wonders what such persons would become in future and whether they will measure up to any task that would be assigned them based on qualifications acquired by fraudulent means.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is deeply worried that the integrity of our examinations will be called to question if steps are not taken to make cheating a high risk endeavour.
We should worry about the integrity of our examinations in the wake of reports that certain universities in Europe and America do not recognise certificates from certain West African countries. Nationals of such countries have found a safe haven in Ghana for their criminals activities.
It is, therefore, a pity that we are beginning to undermine the credibility of our educational system by these fraudulent examination practices.
There is no shortcut to the attainment of academic laurels because academic excellence can only be achieved through hard work.
The DAILY GRAPHIC calls on the WAEC to critically look at all its processes to ensure that there is zero-leak during its examinations because the cancellation of papers causes unnecessary pain to studious students and their parents.
We suggest that from the printers through to the process of administering the questions, there should be a mechanism which can assure us of the soundness of the examinations.
The DAILY GRAPHIC thinks that it is our collective responsibility as students, parents and guardians and educational authorities to do the right thing and also expose the cheats in the system.
Let our students remember that the only path to academic excellence is hard work because those who decide to use shortcuts fail in their endeavours.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
HONOURING A GREAT MAN (SEPT 18,, 2009)
WE at the DAILY GRAPHIC are greatly inspired by the enormity of goodwill, flowing in the direction of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, on the occasion of his centenary birthday to dedicate this special edition of the paper to his memory.
With the declaration of September 21, his birthday, as a statutory public holiday the majority of Ghanaians from all walks of life and of all political persuasions have reacted in a way that puts the national and international icon beyond doubt.
The array of political giants who turned up for the official launch of his centenary celebrations and the diversity of political groupings they represented bore testimony to that iconic status, even among those who disagreed with his politics and economic philosophy.
In his maiden address to Parliament in February 2009, President John Evans Atta Mills announced the intention of the government to honour the memory of such a great man whose contribution to the development of the country and Africa, formed the basis for his being voted the most influential African of our time.
Soon after he had realised his dream of achieving independence for Ghana, Dr Nkrumah put together a seven-year development plan to set the pace for Ghana's socio-economic transformation.
Further to that, he dedicated himself to the task of liberating the entire black race from the bondage of colonialism.
It is now an open book that local saboteurs and their external collaborators ensured that Nkrumah did not succeed. And we would not want to disturb the prevailing chorus of praise for him by further opening that book.
It is enough to acknowledge that his achievements both at home and abroad, particularly in Africa, would continue to leave indelible imprints in the minds of many across the globe.
Enforced by actualities of his work, the many educational institutions such as the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the University of Cape Coast, roads such as the Accra-Tema Motorway, the Akosombo Dam, Tema Harbour and township, health facilities, second cycle schools and hundreds of industries across the country, his legend will forever live on.
It is our hope, however, that the present euphoria will inspire the current and future generations to complete his unfinished business of total liberation, economic and political, of the entire black race and beyond.
With the declaration of September 21, his birthday, as a statutory public holiday the majority of Ghanaians from all walks of life and of all political persuasions have reacted in a way that puts the national and international icon beyond doubt.
The array of political giants who turned up for the official launch of his centenary celebrations and the diversity of political groupings they represented bore testimony to that iconic status, even among those who disagreed with his politics and economic philosophy.
In his maiden address to Parliament in February 2009, President John Evans Atta Mills announced the intention of the government to honour the memory of such a great man whose contribution to the development of the country and Africa, formed the basis for his being voted the most influential African of our time.
Soon after he had realised his dream of achieving independence for Ghana, Dr Nkrumah put together a seven-year development plan to set the pace for Ghana's socio-economic transformation.
Further to that, he dedicated himself to the task of liberating the entire black race from the bondage of colonialism.
It is now an open book that local saboteurs and their external collaborators ensured that Nkrumah did not succeed. And we would not want to disturb the prevailing chorus of praise for him by further opening that book.
It is enough to acknowledge that his achievements both at home and abroad, particularly in Africa, would continue to leave indelible imprints in the minds of many across the globe.
Enforced by actualities of his work, the many educational institutions such as the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the University of Cape Coast, roads such as the Accra-Tema Motorway, the Akosombo Dam, Tema Harbour and township, health facilities, second cycle schools and hundreds of industries across the country, his legend will forever live on.
It is our hope, however, that the present euphoria will inspire the current and future generations to complete his unfinished business of total liberation, economic and political, of the entire black race and beyond.
OVERHAUL THE SYSTEM NOW (SEPT 17)
THE row over the school feeding programme is embarrassing, to say the least, for it is one that could have been avoided.
The DAILY GRAPHIC’s worry is not about the politics such a laudable initiative is engulfed in, but rather the confusion that has resulted from efforts by the Government to streamline the programme.
As reported on the front page of yesterday’s edition of this paper, we think the impasse must be resolved immediately for the sake of our children.
Ghana decided to embark on the School Feeding Programme sometime in 1999 as part of the broad objectives of the Millennium Development Goals to achieve full school enrolment of pupils by 2015.
In 2005, structures were put in place to realise what was a national and collective effort to enrol more of our pupils in basic schools on a pilot basis.
Indeed, the country was highly praised in Rome by the United Nations World Food Programme for this particular initiative in 2007 as an example of how governments could help to initiate pro-poor policies.
Therefore, the signals from Tuesday’s tango between new and old caterers can only make our development partners wary of the direction of this laudable initiative meant to provide one hot and nutritious meal for every schoolchild.
At the beginning of the programme, there were reports of many people, especially in rural Ghana, enrolling their children in schools where the meals were being served. At a point in time, it was reported that communities in countries bordering our country were taking advantage of the programme to also enrol their children in Ghanaian schools.
Such is the impact of the programme that the DAILY GRAPHIC thinks we should by now have necessarily put in the needed structures to expand it to cover as many deprived communities as possible, instead of the stand-off between rival caterers and their employers.
As explained by the Director of the Ghana School Feeding Programme, Mr Michael Nsowah, “replacing caterers at this time is not the best, since they need to be trained to enable them to provide efficient services”.
Indeed, there have been reports of some unscrupulous people taking advantage of the programme to enrich themselves. Those people certainly do not deserve our sympathy and they must not be allowed to prosper at the expense of the children.
The DAILY GRAPHIC calls for an open and fair system, in which people who have proven their expertise and competence in catering are hired to do the job. After all, whoever will be given the contract will be a Ghanaian first, before being part of a particular interest group.
If what the Deputy Minister of Local Government, Mr Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, said that “there are people within the system who allocated schools to themselves, thereby making windfall”, is anything to go by, then the axe must fall on such characters who do not wish our children well.
The DAILY GRAPHIC, therefore, calls on the Government to take immediate steps to put whatever structures are required in place to make the programme more functional and ensure the growth and development of our children in a sound environment.
The DAILY GRAPHIC’s worry is not about the politics such a laudable initiative is engulfed in, but rather the confusion that has resulted from efforts by the Government to streamline the programme.
As reported on the front page of yesterday’s edition of this paper, we think the impasse must be resolved immediately for the sake of our children.
Ghana decided to embark on the School Feeding Programme sometime in 1999 as part of the broad objectives of the Millennium Development Goals to achieve full school enrolment of pupils by 2015.
In 2005, structures were put in place to realise what was a national and collective effort to enrol more of our pupils in basic schools on a pilot basis.
Indeed, the country was highly praised in Rome by the United Nations World Food Programme for this particular initiative in 2007 as an example of how governments could help to initiate pro-poor policies.
Therefore, the signals from Tuesday’s tango between new and old caterers can only make our development partners wary of the direction of this laudable initiative meant to provide one hot and nutritious meal for every schoolchild.
At the beginning of the programme, there were reports of many people, especially in rural Ghana, enrolling their children in schools where the meals were being served. At a point in time, it was reported that communities in countries bordering our country were taking advantage of the programme to also enrol their children in Ghanaian schools.
Such is the impact of the programme that the DAILY GRAPHIC thinks we should by now have necessarily put in the needed structures to expand it to cover as many deprived communities as possible, instead of the stand-off between rival caterers and their employers.
As explained by the Director of the Ghana School Feeding Programme, Mr Michael Nsowah, “replacing caterers at this time is not the best, since they need to be trained to enable them to provide efficient services”.
Indeed, there have been reports of some unscrupulous people taking advantage of the programme to enrich themselves. Those people certainly do not deserve our sympathy and they must not be allowed to prosper at the expense of the children.
The DAILY GRAPHIC calls for an open and fair system, in which people who have proven their expertise and competence in catering are hired to do the job. After all, whoever will be given the contract will be a Ghanaian first, before being part of a particular interest group.
If what the Deputy Minister of Local Government, Mr Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, said that “there are people within the system who allocated schools to themselves, thereby making windfall”, is anything to go by, then the axe must fall on such characters who do not wish our children well.
The DAILY GRAPHIC, therefore, calls on the Government to take immediate steps to put whatever structures are required in place to make the programme more functional and ensure the growth and development of our children in a sound environment.
THAT EVERYBODY MAY BE SAFE (SEPT 16, 2009)
THE fight against violent crimes has taken a new dimension with the declaration of war on the manufacturers of locally made arms by the police.
This has introduced an interesting debate into the methods by which the country can deal with violent crimes such as armed robbery and drug trafficking, and how to deal with the perpetrators, who sometimes are a shade ahead of the law enforcement agencies.
These groups of criminals, with the aid of modern gadgets, have perfected their acts, thereby creating a state of insecurity across the length and breadth of the country.
The new focus of the police to tackle the problem at the root emphasises the point that proliferation of trade in small arms has also aggravated criminal activities in the country.
Another factor that has facilitated the proliferation is the free movement of people across our borders, which makes it easy for cross-border crimes to be committed.
The types of arms and ammunition used by these criminals, which are the preserve of our security agencies, and how they get into their hands can only be a matter of conjecture.
Fortunately however, the security agencies have over the past few months taken the fight to the robbers and made violent crimes a very risky business. Many of the notorious robbers have been gunned down in fire exchanges with the police or arrested during such exchanges with the security personnel.
A few months ago, not a day passed by without a group of armed robbers taking people hostage and robbing them of their valuable possessions.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Quaye, upon assumption of office, decided to do everything within his power to fulfil the pledge by President J.E.A. Mills to ensure that the country was secure and free from the menace of armed robbery.
More police and military personnel on joint operations have reduced the impunity with which armed robbers have abused and molested peace-loving people in the country.
In spite of all these however, there is the need to take another look at the legislation which makes it a crime to manufacture arms locally.
Rather, these artisans need to be identified and registered so that those who patronise their wares can be identified.
The trade in locally made pistols dates back centuries and the trade, no matter the danger it poses, offers people some livelihood.
Just as there is a register of people who import arms into the country, the DAILY GRAPHIC thinks that people who engage in the business of local arms such as the blacksmiths can be registered so that the security agencies can regulate their activities.
Let us not drive the activities of local arms dealers underground. We need to encourage them to operate in a more open and regulated environment.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is equally worried about the state of arm robbery and we shall support the relevant state agencies to deal decisively with the menace, but we should do so without jeopardising the craft of manufacturing local arms and thus put the livelihood of blacksmiths in danger.
We must be mindful of the move to control the trade in local arms so that a more fertile ground is not created for the trade to flourish underground.
This has introduced an interesting debate into the methods by which the country can deal with violent crimes such as armed robbery and drug trafficking, and how to deal with the perpetrators, who sometimes are a shade ahead of the law enforcement agencies.
These groups of criminals, with the aid of modern gadgets, have perfected their acts, thereby creating a state of insecurity across the length and breadth of the country.
The new focus of the police to tackle the problem at the root emphasises the point that proliferation of trade in small arms has also aggravated criminal activities in the country.
Another factor that has facilitated the proliferation is the free movement of people across our borders, which makes it easy for cross-border crimes to be committed.
The types of arms and ammunition used by these criminals, which are the preserve of our security agencies, and how they get into their hands can only be a matter of conjecture.
Fortunately however, the security agencies have over the past few months taken the fight to the robbers and made violent crimes a very risky business. Many of the notorious robbers have been gunned down in fire exchanges with the police or arrested during such exchanges with the security personnel.
A few months ago, not a day passed by without a group of armed robbers taking people hostage and robbing them of their valuable possessions.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Quaye, upon assumption of office, decided to do everything within his power to fulfil the pledge by President J.E.A. Mills to ensure that the country was secure and free from the menace of armed robbery.
More police and military personnel on joint operations have reduced the impunity with which armed robbers have abused and molested peace-loving people in the country.
In spite of all these however, there is the need to take another look at the legislation which makes it a crime to manufacture arms locally.
Rather, these artisans need to be identified and registered so that those who patronise their wares can be identified.
The trade in locally made pistols dates back centuries and the trade, no matter the danger it poses, offers people some livelihood.
Just as there is a register of people who import arms into the country, the DAILY GRAPHIC thinks that people who engage in the business of local arms such as the blacksmiths can be registered so that the security agencies can regulate their activities.
Let us not drive the activities of local arms dealers underground. We need to encourage them to operate in a more open and regulated environment.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is equally worried about the state of arm robbery and we shall support the relevant state agencies to deal decisively with the menace, but we should do so without jeopardising the craft of manufacturing local arms and thus put the livelihood of blacksmiths in danger.
We must be mindful of the move to control the trade in local arms so that a more fertile ground is not created for the trade to flourish underground.
A TIGHT BALANCE FOR WAEC (SEPT 15, 2009)
THE publication of the pictures of students alleged to have engaged in examination malpractices has incurred the displeasure of some children’s rights groups, notably the Child Rights International (CRI) and another group calling itself the Concerned Citizens, which have condemned the publication as constituting a violation of the rights of the students.
It is the contention of the CRI that the publication, caused by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), would not augur well for the development and future of the affected students.
Indeed, the Children’s Act, 1998 (ACT 560) states in Section 2, Subsection 2 that “the best interest of the child shall be the primary consideration by any court, person, institution or other body in any matter concerned with a child.”
Additionally, the 1992 Constitution, the highest law of the land, recognising the protection of children as paramount and non-negotiable, states in Article 28, Clause 1 (d) that “children and young persons receive special protection against exposure to physical and moral hazards.”
Without any ambiguity, the Constitution, in Article 28 clause 5 states that “For the purposes of this article, “child” means a person below the age of 18.”
The express wishes of the Constitution to give maximum protection to the child vis-à-vis the need for the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to protect the integrity of its examinations is what calls for the debate on whether or not it is appropriate to publish the names and pictures of the children involved in examination malpractice.
The first difficulty in the debate is the determination of the ages of affected students. The students were candidates of the November/December 2008 West Africa Senior School Certificate Examinations.
It is reasonable to assume that almost all the students whose pictures and names appeared in the publication completed what used to be known and called senior secondary school.
We are unable to establish whether the affected students are above or below the prescribed age for protection.
However, if the normal educational practice of admitting six-year-olds to Primary One and the fact that November-December senior high school examination is meant for private candidates, including mostly senior high school leavers, then after 12 years of schooling from the basic to the second cycle level, those involved in the examination malpractice are at least 18 years of age, meaning they are no longer children.
On the other hand, the WAEC Law (Act 719) did not make provision for age. This emphasises the importance of protecting the integrity of the examinations and certificates of WAEC.
We do not condone examination malpractices and, therefore, think the malpractices should be punished in ways that can deter other students.
We think the resort to publishing the pictures is to further raise the bar of deterrence to protect the integrity of the council’s examinations and certificates. After all pictures have been introduced to validate its certificates.
We hope a decent balance is struck between the rights of children and the need to preserve the integrity of an important institution like WAEC from recalcitrant students and potential future leaders, whose desire for short-cuts could pose a danger to the future of the country they aspire to lead.
It is the contention of the CRI that the publication, caused by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), would not augur well for the development and future of the affected students.
Indeed, the Children’s Act, 1998 (ACT 560) states in Section 2, Subsection 2 that “the best interest of the child shall be the primary consideration by any court, person, institution or other body in any matter concerned with a child.”
Additionally, the 1992 Constitution, the highest law of the land, recognising the protection of children as paramount and non-negotiable, states in Article 28, Clause 1 (d) that “children and young persons receive special protection against exposure to physical and moral hazards.”
Without any ambiguity, the Constitution, in Article 28 clause 5 states that “For the purposes of this article, “child” means a person below the age of 18.”
The express wishes of the Constitution to give maximum protection to the child vis-à-vis the need for the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to protect the integrity of its examinations is what calls for the debate on whether or not it is appropriate to publish the names and pictures of the children involved in examination malpractice.
The first difficulty in the debate is the determination of the ages of affected students. The students were candidates of the November/December 2008 West Africa Senior School Certificate Examinations.
It is reasonable to assume that almost all the students whose pictures and names appeared in the publication completed what used to be known and called senior secondary school.
We are unable to establish whether the affected students are above or below the prescribed age for protection.
However, if the normal educational practice of admitting six-year-olds to Primary One and the fact that November-December senior high school examination is meant for private candidates, including mostly senior high school leavers, then after 12 years of schooling from the basic to the second cycle level, those involved in the examination malpractice are at least 18 years of age, meaning they are no longer children.
On the other hand, the WAEC Law (Act 719) did not make provision for age. This emphasises the importance of protecting the integrity of the examinations and certificates of WAEC.
We do not condone examination malpractices and, therefore, think the malpractices should be punished in ways that can deter other students.
We think the resort to publishing the pictures is to further raise the bar of deterrence to protect the integrity of the council’s examinations and certificates. After all pictures have been introduced to validate its certificates.
We hope a decent balance is struck between the rights of children and the need to preserve the integrity of an important institution like WAEC from recalcitrant students and potential future leaders, whose desire for short-cuts could pose a danger to the future of the country they aspire to lead.
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