PROJECT CITIZEN-GHANA

16-02-2010 PROJECT CITIZEN-GHANA
Narration: The annual Upper East “Project Citizen’ Ghana Regional showcase, the second of its kind in the region has taken place at Bolgatanga. The annual learning and research event which is a joint collaboration between the Upper Regional office of the National Commission for Civic Education NCCE and Project Citizen Ghana with support from Hanns Seidel Foundation and Promasidor Ghana Limited was attended by a section of the public, educationists, as well as representatives from the various Junior high school and second cycle institutions in the region. Participants were students from 15 junior and senior high schools in the Bolgatanga municipality. Isaac Asare and Selase Sedzi were there for Radio Ghana and have sent this report.



Report
Fifteen selected schools comprising six second cycle institutions and nine Junior High school drawn from Bolgatanga and its environs, are participating in this year’s Project Ghana Regional showcase competition. It was on the theme: “Consolidating Democracy through Youth Participation”. The National Co-ordinator of Project Citizen, Mrs. Fanny Kumah stated that project citizen Ghana aims at instilling into students the spirit of patriotism, tolerance and democracy through education and school competition. She said the organisation also seeks to equip students with the requisite skills in the area of communication, analytical thinking skills among other related disciplines. Mrs Kuma also noted that the programme which is being spearheaded by NCCE is a civic education programme that cuts across the various educational curricula to influence public policy in solving problems both at school and the communities, adding that the best regional schools would then meet for the national competition whiles prices would be won at each level. Addressing participants the Regional Director of Civic Education, P. H. Mensah recognized the importance of placing special emphasis on the youth in schools as a significant target for civic education informed by the principle of ‘catch them young’. He noted that this aims at educating the students on the skills of citizenship and governance in their formative stage. He stressed that his outfit has introduced a number of programs which include the formation of civic education clubs in schools, constitution game competitions, quizzes and debates in order to achieve the set objective. The Upper East Deputy Regional Minister Lucy Awuni, emphasised that government had put in place the necessary structures to enhance participation in quality of teaching and learning by rehabilitating existing classroom and also providing the needed furniture for all new schools to be constructed. She said the government will continue to promote the STMA clinics in schools to increase the enthusiasm of students in the study of science especially the girl child.
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