Story: Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah
Pupils and students across the country are having serious challenges . While the rampant blackouts in most parts of the country are taking a toll on academic work, teachers have also worsened matters by embarking on a strike.
As a result of the frequent power cuts, students, especially those who are preparing to write the West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) are having challenges studying at night.
Currently, members of the two main teacher organisations - Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) - are also staying away from the classrooms in protest against what they say is discrimination by the government in the payment of their entitlements.
The teachers are calling for the payment of their maintenance allowance, which they say had not been paid for over 15 months.
Visits by the Junior Graphic to some senior high schools in Accra: Labone SHS, St Thomas Aquinas, PRESEC Osu and Accra High School, revealed that most of the teachers did not report to school at all, while the few that reported at some of the SHSs did not teach. Some sat in groups unders trees while others relaxed in their cars chatting heartily.
When the Junior Graphic visited the Nima Cluster of Schools, Independence Avenue, Kanda Cluster of Schools, among others, most of the students were not aware of the strike so they had turned out in their numbers. While others quickly returned home in excitement, after they were told about the strike, others stayed to play with their friends.
Schools that were scheduled to write their end of term examination had to postpone it to a later date.
Final-year students who are preparing for the WASSCE seem to be very disturbed over the strike action as some of them are currently undertaking their final practical in Visual Arts, Home Economics, Food and Nutrition, Clothing and Textiles, Music, Arabic, French and English Orals.
The Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Education, Stephen Adu, in an interview said it was very unfortunate that teachers were on strike at the 11th hour when their students needed them most. He, however, explained that his outfit was fast-tracking the necessary administrative work to ensure that outstanding issues were quickly addressed so that the strike was not prolonged.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Check your data online WAEC tells candidates
Story: Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has directed all candidates writing the May/June 2013 West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the June 2013 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) to go online to check their correct data.
The online verification of statement of entries is to ensure that particulars of candidates submitted to the council are correct.
It will also help the council correct and facilitate the processing of results.
The Head of Public Relations at WAEC, Mrs Agnes Teye-Cudjoe, explained to the Junior Graphic that for some time now the council had been receiving entries of some candidates with errors which sometimes delayed the processing of results.
Mrs Teye-Cudjoe said some entries were sent with different names of candidates, photographs interchanged with those of others, wrong dates of birth and subjects, among others.
"When such errors occur, the candidates only detect them when they are handed their final results. This means many changes must be done," she said.
She said candidates should log onto the WAEC website: www.waecgh.org and if they detect any error in, for instance, their names, dates of birth, photographs or any other data, they should contact their heads of schools who would go ahead to request the correction of the errors.
"Requests from heads of schools for correction should reach the council not later than April 15," she added.
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has directed all candidates writing the May/June 2013 West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the June 2013 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) to go online to check their correct data.
The online verification of statement of entries is to ensure that particulars of candidates submitted to the council are correct.
It will also help the council correct and facilitate the processing of results.
The Head of Public Relations at WAEC, Mrs Agnes Teye-Cudjoe, explained to the Junior Graphic that for some time now the council had been receiving entries of some candidates with errors which sometimes delayed the processing of results.
Mrs Teye-Cudjoe said some entries were sent with different names of candidates, photographs interchanged with those of others, wrong dates of birth and subjects, among others.
"When such errors occur, the candidates only detect them when they are handed their final results. This means many changes must be done," she said.
She said candidates should log onto the WAEC website: www.waecgh.org and if they detect any error in, for instance, their names, dates of birth, photographs or any other data, they should contact their heads of schools who would go ahead to request the correction of the errors.
"Requests from heads of schools for correction should reach the council not later than April 15," she added.
WASSCE kick starts
Story: Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah
This year's West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) began in earnest yesterday, with all the candidates across the country writing their first core paper — English Language Orals.
In all, 409,832 candidates, the highest number of candidates so far in the history of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), from 742 public and private schools are writing the examination.
In Ghana, 58 papers, made up of four core and 54 elective, will be written until May 17 which officially ends the entire WASSCE.
Today, April 10, another core paper, Integrated Science, will be written.
In an interview, the Head of Test Administration at WAEC, Mr Felix Akuffo-Badoo, disclosed that due to the frequent power cuts, the heads of schools had been advised to get standby generators to provide power during the oral papers.
He said in order to prevent delays in the delivery of examination papers, the council had opened various depots close to most of the schools to shorten the time for picking of papers.
"As you know, there is so much traffic in most of the metropolises and municipalities, hence this new initiative," he said.
He said WAEC had officially written to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to provide the council with adequate policemen across the country to ensure maximum security at all the examination centres.
Mr Akuffo-Badoo warned candidates against examination malpractice such as carrying foreign materials such as mobile phones, programmed calculators or other electronic communication devices into the examination halls.
"Offences such as mass cheating, leaked questions (apor), taking question papers or answer booklets out, tearing any part of the paper/answer booklet, insulting or assaulting an invigilator/supervisor inside or outside the examination hall will lead to the cancellation of a candidate's or an entire school's results, while the culprits could be barred from writing WAEC examinations or even imprisoned," he added.
This year's West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) began in earnest yesterday, with all the candidates across the country writing their first core paper — English Language Orals.
In all, 409,832 candidates, the highest number of candidates so far in the history of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), from 742 public and private schools are writing the examination.
In Ghana, 58 papers, made up of four core and 54 elective, will be written until May 17 which officially ends the entire WASSCE.
Today, April 10, another core paper, Integrated Science, will be written.
In an interview, the Head of Test Administration at WAEC, Mr Felix Akuffo-Badoo, disclosed that due to the frequent power cuts, the heads of schools had been advised to get standby generators to provide power during the oral papers.
He said in order to prevent delays in the delivery of examination papers, the council had opened various depots close to most of the schools to shorten the time for picking of papers.
"As you know, there is so much traffic in most of the metropolises and municipalities, hence this new initiative," he said.
He said WAEC had officially written to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to provide the council with adequate policemen across the country to ensure maximum security at all the examination centres.
Mr Akuffo-Badoo warned candidates against examination malpractice such as carrying foreign materials such as mobile phones, programmed calculators or other electronic communication devices into the examination halls.
"Offences such as mass cheating, leaked questions (apor), taking question papers or answer booklets out, tearing any part of the paper/answer booklet, insulting or assaulting an invigilator/supervisor inside or outside the examination hall will lead to the cancellation of a candidate's or an entire school's results, while the culprits could be barred from writing WAEC examinations or even imprisoned," he added.
WASSCE ongoing amdist drama
The 2013 May/June West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is ongoing, amidst drama.
While majority of the candidates who wrote the Oral English last Tuesday had no problem with the recording, a few claimed the sound was not audible enough.
In almost all the senior high schools (SHSs) visited, the candidates were divided into batches to enable them to write the Oral English. For instance, at the Labone SHS, where 1,241 candidates wrote the paper, they were divided into five groups, while Accra High School, which had 900 candidates, had five groups.
St Thomas Aquinas SHS, with 862 candidates, had four groups of 230 candidates each.
The Integrated Science paper, which was written on Wednesday, April 10, saw candidates occupying the examination halls and classrooms in the various centres due to the large number of candidates writing the paper.
Some heads of SHSs also used the examination as an opportunity to demand school fees from students who owed.
However, that action by some of the heads compelled the Chief Director of the Ministry of Education, Mr Enoch Hemans Cobbinah, to warn the heads not to prevent any candidate from writing the WASSCE because he or she owed school fees.
The director, in an interview, said, "Any attempt to prevent any candidate from writing the examination on account of the fact that he or she owes the school will constitute an infringement of the law."
About 195 students of the Kollege SHS at Darkuman, Accra also descended on their school last Wednesday just before the start of the Oral English paper, accusing the authorities of the school of failing to register them for the WASSCE.
The irate students set the director’s car ablaze and also destroyed several school property, including computers.
The Director of the school, Mr Ato Abraham, had to be arrested by policemen from the Odorkor Police Station who were on the school compound to restore order.
This year's WASSCE began on Tuesday, April 9 with 409,753 candidates from 724 public and private SHSs across the country.
In all, 220,866 males and 188,881 females are writing the examination, which is being written simultaneously in four other English-speaking West African countries — Nigeria, Liberia, The Gambia and Sierra Leone.
This year’s examination has the highest number of candidates from the two batches of final-year SHS students, with the last batch of four-year SHS students under the 2007 educational reform policy writing the examination with the first batch of three-year SHS students following the reversal of the duration of SHS education from four to three years in 2010.
Candidates region by region
The Ashanti Region is presenting the highest number of candidates, 102,906, made up of 54,561 males and 48,345 females, followed by the Eastern Region, which is presenting 64,201 candidates, comprising 31,975 males and 32,226 females.
Greater Accra has 44,731 candidates, made up of 23,596 males and 21,135 females, while Central has 43,655 candidates, comprising 23,047 males and 20,608 females.
Volta is presenting 35,856 candidates, of which 19,994 are males and 15,862 females.
The rest are: Brong Ahafo, 35,692 candidates (19,503 males and 16,189 females); Northern, 31,645 (19,872 males and 11,773 females); Western, 29,692 (15,848 males and 13,844 females); Upper East, 12,691 (7,287 males and 5,404 females) and Upper West, 8,678 (5,183 males and 3,495 females).
While majority of the candidates who wrote the Oral English last Tuesday had no problem with the recording, a few claimed the sound was not audible enough.
In almost all the senior high schools (SHSs) visited, the candidates were divided into batches to enable them to write the Oral English. For instance, at the Labone SHS, where 1,241 candidates wrote the paper, they were divided into five groups, while Accra High School, which had 900 candidates, had five groups.
St Thomas Aquinas SHS, with 862 candidates, had four groups of 230 candidates each.
The Integrated Science paper, which was written on Wednesday, April 10, saw candidates occupying the examination halls and classrooms in the various centres due to the large number of candidates writing the paper.
Some heads of SHSs also used the examination as an opportunity to demand school fees from students who owed.
However, that action by some of the heads compelled the Chief Director of the Ministry of Education, Mr Enoch Hemans Cobbinah, to warn the heads not to prevent any candidate from writing the WASSCE because he or she owed school fees.
The director, in an interview, said, "Any attempt to prevent any candidate from writing the examination on account of the fact that he or she owes the school will constitute an infringement of the law."
About 195 students of the Kollege SHS at Darkuman, Accra also descended on their school last Wednesday just before the start of the Oral English paper, accusing the authorities of the school of failing to register them for the WASSCE.
The irate students set the director’s car ablaze and also destroyed several school property, including computers.
The Director of the school, Mr Ato Abraham, had to be arrested by policemen from the Odorkor Police Station who were on the school compound to restore order.
This year's WASSCE began on Tuesday, April 9 with 409,753 candidates from 724 public and private SHSs across the country.
In all, 220,866 males and 188,881 females are writing the examination, which is being written simultaneously in four other English-speaking West African countries — Nigeria, Liberia, The Gambia and Sierra Leone.
This year’s examination has the highest number of candidates from the two batches of final-year SHS students, with the last batch of four-year SHS students under the 2007 educational reform policy writing the examination with the first batch of three-year SHS students following the reversal of the duration of SHS education from four to three years in 2010.
Candidates region by region
The Ashanti Region is presenting the highest number of candidates, 102,906, made up of 54,561 males and 48,345 females, followed by the Eastern Region, which is presenting 64,201 candidates, comprising 31,975 males and 32,226 females.
Greater Accra has 44,731 candidates, made up of 23,596 males and 21,135 females, while Central has 43,655 candidates, comprising 23,047 males and 20,608 females.
Volta is presenting 35,856 candidates, of which 19,994 are males and 15,862 females.
The rest are: Brong Ahafo, 35,692 candidates (19,503 males and 16,189 females); Northern, 31,645 (19,872 males and 11,773 females); Western, 29,692 (15,848 males and 13,844 females); Upper East, 12,691 (7,287 males and 5,404 females) and Upper West, 8,678 (5,183 males and 3,495 females).
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Kwame Yeboah — Master keyboardist
Story: Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah
He is young, energetic and forward looking and it is no wonder that he has worked with several big names in the music industry in Ghana and abroad.
His prowess on the keyboard and guitar and his skills as a producer and recording engineer make Kwame Yeboah a hot commodity in the world of contemporary music.
He has provided services for big names in the industry such as Kojo Antwi, Miss Dynamite, Craig David, Stevie Wonder, Alexander O’Neal, Amy Winehouse, Jimmy Cliff and good old Osibisa.
This makes him shuttle regularly between London and Accra and, at 34, the only job he has ever done is to play music, something he emphatically says he will not trade for any other.
“I have no regrets at all for being a musician all my life,” Kwame said. “I have tapped knowledge from a lot of people and sources and I’m happy now that I spend a lot of time here these days to manage, guide and share what I know with some of the young, brilliant and up-and-coming Ghanaian musicians.”
His father is a veteran highlife musician, K.K. Yeboah, and Kwame attributes his achievements to the fact that he was surrounded by music throughout his childhood and was allowed to drift where his instincts led him.
Apart from his father’s early influence, he also learnt from his maternal uncle, the late Paa Gyimah, who was a proficient guitarist for Jewel Ackah, Senior Eddie Donkor and several other local bands.
“Though there were instruments all around me as I grew up, my father was initially not too keen on me taking up music. He felt I should pay more attention to school but I was playing drums by the time I was five and the guitar by seven,” he recalled.
Since his father was not excited about his venturing into the music industry, Kwame hung out a lot more in Snr Eddie Donkor’s house, which was close to theirs at Abeka in Accra. He also followed his uncle Gyimah around quite a bit.
“The guitar was my main instrument in the beginning but I moved on to keyboards. I realised that whenever a band was playing and the keyboards came in, the sound became bigger. I wanted to be able to be the one responsible for that big sound,” he said.
Many know Kwame in Ghana as Kojo Antwi’s keyboard player and music director. The two first came together through keyboardist Kwabena Akwaboa in 1996 for a Miss Ghana gig.
“I was hired to play that gig alone but Kojo invited me to a session in the studio after that. He was extremely impressed with what I produced in the studio and we have been together since then,” he recalled.
Kwame started his primary education at the Cosmos Preparatory School and continued to the Wassa Amenfi Secondary School in the Western Region and finally completed at the Pank Secondary in Accra.
As a result of his love for music, he took some music lessons in Denmark to be able to write and interpret music with world jazz piano players such as Michel Camilo and Danilo Perez.
Kwame hails from Wassa Akropong in the Western Region and his main focus now is running his two Mixstation studios in Accra and London and performing with his Ohia Beye Ya Band.
He was music director for this year’s Vodafone Ghana Icons music reality show.
He is young, energetic and forward looking and it is no wonder that he has worked with several big names in the music industry in Ghana and abroad.
His prowess on the keyboard and guitar and his skills as a producer and recording engineer make Kwame Yeboah a hot commodity in the world of contemporary music.
He has provided services for big names in the industry such as Kojo Antwi, Miss Dynamite, Craig David, Stevie Wonder, Alexander O’Neal, Amy Winehouse, Jimmy Cliff and good old Osibisa.
This makes him shuttle regularly between London and Accra and, at 34, the only job he has ever done is to play music, something he emphatically says he will not trade for any other.
“I have no regrets at all for being a musician all my life,” Kwame said. “I have tapped knowledge from a lot of people and sources and I’m happy now that I spend a lot of time here these days to manage, guide and share what I know with some of the young, brilliant and up-and-coming Ghanaian musicians.”
His father is a veteran highlife musician, K.K. Yeboah, and Kwame attributes his achievements to the fact that he was surrounded by music throughout his childhood and was allowed to drift where his instincts led him.
Apart from his father’s early influence, he also learnt from his maternal uncle, the late Paa Gyimah, who was a proficient guitarist for Jewel Ackah, Senior Eddie Donkor and several other local bands.
“Though there were instruments all around me as I grew up, my father was initially not too keen on me taking up music. He felt I should pay more attention to school but I was playing drums by the time I was five and the guitar by seven,” he recalled.
Since his father was not excited about his venturing into the music industry, Kwame hung out a lot more in Snr Eddie Donkor’s house, which was close to theirs at Abeka in Accra. He also followed his uncle Gyimah around quite a bit.
“The guitar was my main instrument in the beginning but I moved on to keyboards. I realised that whenever a band was playing and the keyboards came in, the sound became bigger. I wanted to be able to be the one responsible for that big sound,” he said.
Many know Kwame in Ghana as Kojo Antwi’s keyboard player and music director. The two first came together through keyboardist Kwabena Akwaboa in 1996 for a Miss Ghana gig.
“I was hired to play that gig alone but Kojo invited me to a session in the studio after that. He was extremely impressed with what I produced in the studio and we have been together since then,” he recalled.
Kwame started his primary education at the Cosmos Preparatory School and continued to the Wassa Amenfi Secondary School in the Western Region and finally completed at the Pank Secondary in Accra.
As a result of his love for music, he took some music lessons in Denmark to be able to write and interpret music with world jazz piano players such as Michel Camilo and Danilo Perez.
Kwame hails from Wassa Akropong in the Western Region and his main focus now is running his two Mixstation studios in Accra and London and performing with his Ohia Beye Ya Band.
He was music director for this year’s Vodafone Ghana Icons music reality show.
Stop charging unapproved fees — GES warns
The Ministry of Education (MoE) has warned heads of senior high schools to refrain from charging the unapproved feeding fee of GH¢2.80 currently being imposed on students.
The Head of Public Relations of the MoE, Mr Paul Krampah, told the Junior Graphic that it had come to the notice of the ministry that the approved feeding fee of GH¢1.80 had been increased without approval from the ministry.
“We have written to the heads not to collect such amount of money from parents but it looks like some heads are flouting the order. For this reason, a committee has been set up by the ministry to go into the current problem between the MoE and the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) over the feeding fees for boarding students,” he said.
Mr Krampah said the headmasters claimed reverting to the old fees would have a serious effect on the quality of food they served to the students.
“This is simply not acceptable, as the heads are going contrary to the agreement they signed in connection with the feeding fee last year,” he said.
He explained that just last year, the feeding fee was reviewed from GH¢1.40 to the current GH¢1.80 to enable heads of schools to fulfill their desire to improve both the quality and quantity of food served to students.
“It is, therefore, surprising that the agreement, which was for two years and, therefore, would end next academic year, is being changed by the heads,” he noted.
Mr Krampah, therefore, asked parents who had already paid the GH¢2.50 to ensure that the balance was credited to their children next academic year.
In separate interviews with some headmasters and headmistresses who wanted to remain anonymous, they explained that the current amount being charged was woefully inadequate.
“As you know, we are dealing with teenagers who are very active and, therefore, eat a lot and this same GH¢1.80 is for breakfast, lunch and supper,” they lamented.
The Head of Public Relations of the MoE, Mr Paul Krampah, told the Junior Graphic that it had come to the notice of the ministry that the approved feeding fee of GH¢1.80 had been increased without approval from the ministry.
“We have written to the heads not to collect such amount of money from parents but it looks like some heads are flouting the order. For this reason, a committee has been set up by the ministry to go into the current problem between the MoE and the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) over the feeding fees for boarding students,” he said.
Mr Krampah said the headmasters claimed reverting to the old fees would have a serious effect on the quality of food they served to the students.
“This is simply not acceptable, as the heads are going contrary to the agreement they signed in connection with the feeding fee last year,” he said.
He explained that just last year, the feeding fee was reviewed from GH¢1.40 to the current GH¢1.80 to enable heads of schools to fulfill their desire to improve both the quality and quantity of food served to students.
“It is, therefore, surprising that the agreement, which was for two years and, therefore, would end next academic year, is being changed by the heads,” he noted.
Mr Krampah, therefore, asked parents who had already paid the GH¢2.50 to ensure that the balance was credited to their children next academic year.
In separate interviews with some headmasters and headmistresses who wanted to remain anonymous, they explained that the current amount being charged was woefully inadequate.
“As you know, we are dealing with teenagers who are very active and, therefore, eat a lot and this same GH¢1.80 is for breakfast, lunch and supper,” they lamented.
Manasseh Awuni Azuri - Journalist of the Year
He is currently the youngest media practitioner to have ever won the coveted Journalist of the Year award.
After barely three years as a practitioner of both print and electronic journalism, Manasseh Awuni Azuri has eight top national awards to his credit.
Last year, he won three awards during the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) awards and went home with four awards this year, including the topmost award.
A few weeks ago, he was again presented with the National Youth Achievers Award for Media Excellence by President John Mahama at a grand ceremony.
The name Manasseh, which means "God has made me forget the suffering in my father's house", was chosen by him, as it truly reflects the bitter experiences he had to go through while growing up.
According to him, his father, Mr Awuni Adaboro, who is a watchman at the Krachie Government Hospital, started life as a farm labourer who went round weeding people's farms to make ends meet.
He said because of the work his father did, he (Manasseh) was always mocked at by his mates in school. That made him vow to study very hard to become a well recognised professional to be able to take better care of his parents in future.
"Life was so difficult at that time that sometimes we woke up not knowing when our next meal would come. That continued for quite a while, leading to my siblings and I developing kwashiorkor at a point. Though we struggled with meals at home, my father ensured that he never defaulted in paying my school fees," he disclosed with pride.
Manasseh, who recently landed a job as a reporter with Joy FM, an Accra-based radio station, told the Junior Graphic in a chat that he attributed all the successes he had chalked up in a short time to God and his father, who spent the little he had on his (Manasseh’s) education.
Born at Bongo in the Upper East Region in 1985, his parents relocated to Krachie in the Volta Region when he was six. He started his primary education at the Krachie Local Authority School, and then proceeded to the Henkel Memorial JHS from 1999 to 2001.
Throughout his education, Manasseh exhibited leadership skills — he was the Assistant School Prefect in primary school, and at the Krachie Senior High School he was elected School Prefect, later becoming the Students Representative Council (SRC) President at the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication.
Asked how he had come into journalism, he explained that after secondary school, he wanted to continue immediately to a tertiary school but could not because of financial problems.
Consequently, he worked as a caretaker at the Ghana Education Service (GES) Guest House at Kete-Krachie to be able to save some money to fund his tertiary education. While at the Guest House, "I used to write short stories and posted them on the notice board for our guests to read".
That, he said, caught the attention of the GES Public Relations Officer at Krachie, Fredoline Empeh, who encouraged him to apply to the GIJ to pursue a degree in journalism.
"Initially, I wanted to study business because I felt that would make me rich one day. At that time the only rich person I knew at Krachie who I believed had everything was the bank manager and so I wanted to be like him," he said laughing heartily.
Unfortunately, his dream of becoming a bank manager in future switched when he started writing award-winning plays for his school drama club.
Manasseh, who loves writing on things which are of human interest and issues affecting the less privileged in society, aspires to be a novelist in future. He is currently pursuing a Masters degree at the School of Communication Studies of the University of Ghana, Legon.
Born as a twin, he has 10 siblings and enjoys reading, listening to gospel music and ‘borborbor’. He is also a Presbyterian and Junior Youth teacher.
Interestingly, he speaks Twi, Fante, Frafra, Ewe and Krachie.
For Manasseh, banku and tuo zaafi (TZ) with okro soup are his favourite dishes.
He advised children "never to be intimidated when your friends laugh at you due to your poor background. The best is to strive to excel each day".
After barely three years as a practitioner of both print and electronic journalism, Manasseh Awuni Azuri has eight top national awards to his credit.
Last year, he won three awards during the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) awards and went home with four awards this year, including the topmost award.
A few weeks ago, he was again presented with the National Youth Achievers Award for Media Excellence by President John Mahama at a grand ceremony.
The name Manasseh, which means "God has made me forget the suffering in my father's house", was chosen by him, as it truly reflects the bitter experiences he had to go through while growing up.
According to him, his father, Mr Awuni Adaboro, who is a watchman at the Krachie Government Hospital, started life as a farm labourer who went round weeding people's farms to make ends meet.
He said because of the work his father did, he (Manasseh) was always mocked at by his mates in school. That made him vow to study very hard to become a well recognised professional to be able to take better care of his parents in future.
"Life was so difficult at that time that sometimes we woke up not knowing when our next meal would come. That continued for quite a while, leading to my siblings and I developing kwashiorkor at a point. Though we struggled with meals at home, my father ensured that he never defaulted in paying my school fees," he disclosed with pride.
Manasseh, who recently landed a job as a reporter with Joy FM, an Accra-based radio station, told the Junior Graphic in a chat that he attributed all the successes he had chalked up in a short time to God and his father, who spent the little he had on his (Manasseh’s) education.
Born at Bongo in the Upper East Region in 1985, his parents relocated to Krachie in the Volta Region when he was six. He started his primary education at the Krachie Local Authority School, and then proceeded to the Henkel Memorial JHS from 1999 to 2001.
Throughout his education, Manasseh exhibited leadership skills — he was the Assistant School Prefect in primary school, and at the Krachie Senior High School he was elected School Prefect, later becoming the Students Representative Council (SRC) President at the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication.
Asked how he had come into journalism, he explained that after secondary school, he wanted to continue immediately to a tertiary school but could not because of financial problems.
Consequently, he worked as a caretaker at the Ghana Education Service (GES) Guest House at Kete-Krachie to be able to save some money to fund his tertiary education. While at the Guest House, "I used to write short stories and posted them on the notice board for our guests to read".
That, he said, caught the attention of the GES Public Relations Officer at Krachie, Fredoline Empeh, who encouraged him to apply to the GIJ to pursue a degree in journalism.
"Initially, I wanted to study business because I felt that would make me rich one day. At that time the only rich person I knew at Krachie who I believed had everything was the bank manager and so I wanted to be like him," he said laughing heartily.
Unfortunately, his dream of becoming a bank manager in future switched when he started writing award-winning plays for his school drama club.
Manasseh, who loves writing on things which are of human interest and issues affecting the less privileged in society, aspires to be a novelist in future. He is currently pursuing a Masters degree at the School of Communication Studies of the University of Ghana, Legon.
Born as a twin, he has 10 siblings and enjoys reading, listening to gospel music and ‘borborbor’. He is also a Presbyterian and Junior Youth teacher.
Interestingly, he speaks Twi, Fante, Frafra, Ewe and Krachie.
For Manasseh, banku and tuo zaafi (TZ) with okro soup are his favourite dishes.
He advised children "never to be intimidated when your friends laugh at you due to your poor background. The best is to strive to excel each day".
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