15-06-2011
Narration: The Upper East Regional Showcase of “Project citizen Ghana” has been officially inaugurated at Bolgatanga on the theme: “Qualitative Youth Participation in Ghana’s Democracy. The 5-day programme which is currently underway involves Civic Education Clubs of twenty selected Junior High and Senior High Schools from the three adjoining Municipality and Districts namely, Bolgatanga, Bongo and Talensi Nabdam. It is the third in the series to be organized in the region and features schools like Zamse Senior High, Bolgatanga Girls Senior High and the defending regional champions of Project Citizen School contest, Bolgatanga Senior High. In attendance were heads and teachers of participating schools as well as civic education club patrons and a cross section of the public including parents and guardians. Isaac Asare was there for Radio Ghana.
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ANCR V/O
Report
“Project Citizen Ghana” is an adaptation for project citizen which originated from the United State of America under the auspices of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE). The project which began in 2006 is being sponsorsed by Hanns Seidel Foundation with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) as its sole media partner. The project among other interventions seeks to enhance the knowledge base of student so as to help them acquire civic knowledge and develop their skills and disposition to monitor and influence public policy. Project Citizen as a school based programme also stipulates the youth to explore and demonstrate their initiative and ingenuity to solve community problems through practical application of skills in research and formulation of policies. This broadens their communication and reflective thinking skills and moreover, develop their democratic values and traits of character that persuades them to have respect for human rights, freedom and responsibility with commitment and confidence. At the regional showcase contest, selected students from participatory schools are made to demonstrate and provide solutions to problems they have identified in their respective localities. Winners from the 10 regions would be made to contest at the national level competition in Accra later this year. The Regional Director of the NCCE, Mr. Peter Mensah bemoaned the level of apathy by teachers towards the programme describing it as worrisome. He said some teachers do not demonstrate true commitment to the progamme and after training, some of them fail to introduce it to the students. Some of the teachers, he noted, even withdraw their school’s participation in the competition at the last moment due to inadequate preparation among other lapses. Mr. Mensah therefore used the platform to encourage teacher patrons to attach importance to the progamme since it serves as an effective tool for intellectual and civic consciousness development. The National Coordinator of Project Citizen Ghana, Fanny Judith Kumah, was hopeful that the project would be extended to other schools in the foreseeable future and challenged stakeholders to help ensure its sustainability through funding. The Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Lucy Awuni for her part, described the project as a welcome gesture in view of the fact that it is an interdisciplinary civic education aimed at championing the cause of the youth in Ghana’s democracy. Madam Awuni also seized the opportunity to caution students in the region against acts of indiscipline and vandalism. She said the high level of indiscipline exhibited by some second cycle schools in the region is a reflection of the lost societal values in such students and called for concerted efforts by stakeholders including parents, teachers, opinion leaders and relevant institution to intensify their campaign on good citizenship.
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