The Contribution of the Ghana Schools Feeding Programme to Basic School Participation: A Study of Selected Schools in the Kwaebibirim District of Ghana

The paper analyzed the contribution of the Ghana Schools Feeding Programme to basic school participation in selected schools in the Kwaebibirim District of Ghana. A total of 94 respondents were involved in the study. Both simple random and purposive sampling techniques were applied in the selection of respondents. Secondary data was also obtained through the review of documents and reports on the subject. The study found out that the policy interventions have contributed to enrolment, attendance and retention in public primary schools. It has improved school attendance by at least 1 percent and at most 15 percent  in the schools studied. It is however worth noting that the programme is bedevilled with challenges such as inadequate funds and delays in it release, reduction in contact hours with pupils and students, and undue interferences in the appointment of caterers. Keywords: education, participation, enrolment, attendance, retentio

The Role of Remedial Schools in the Development of Education in Ghana

The primary objective of the study was to find out the contributions of remedial schools to development in the country. To achieve this, the study adopted the exploratory research design. It applied both quantitative and qualitative research techniques.  Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources and critically analyzed for result. A total of 120 remedial school students were interviewed during the study. Also, data was collected from teachers, schools headmasters and the education directorate of the metropolitan local government office. The interview guide and questionnaire were the tools applied in soliciting data from the respondents. Findings were that remedial schools aside preparing students adequately to pass their external examinations, contributed massively to development in diverse ways. For instance, these schools provide employment; provide a platform to upgrade the skills of workers and also to upgrade the moral standards of society.  Interestingly, aside poor performing secondary school graduates who enroll in these schools; workers, school dropouts as well as continuing secondary school students are among the population that make up the remedial schools.  Challenged by the fact that they are not being recognized and thus not supported by the government, remedial schools tend to face problems with funding. Support from the government is needed by these schools, considering their numerous contributions to the country, to upgrade their existing capacities to do even better than now

The Effects of Natural Resource Conservation on the Development of Fringe Communities around the Barekese Catchment Area

The study sought to assess the effects of nature resource conservation on fringe communities in the Barekese conserved area in Ghana. A sample of 82 household heads was randomly selected from four fringe communities and interviewed to gather the needed primary data. Also focused group discussions were held with farmers, fishers, hunters and chain-saw operator groups in the sampled communities. The findings were that the Barekese catchment area conservation project had resulted in the reduction in farmlands of the people living in the fringe communities. It has also brought about some natural resource use conflicts, poverty and the undermining of livelihood opportunities of the fringe communities. It is therefore recommended that alternative livelihood opportunities, especially nonfarm businesses need to be encouraged and supported by the government and other local authorities among the resource fringe communities to minimize the negative effects of conservation. Active involvement of the fringe communities in the decision making process, before, during and after the conservation, could have engendered local ownership and reduced the antagonistic tendencies from the fringe communities. Keywords: natural resource, conservation, fringe communities, Barekes

Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) as a Model for Promoting Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in the Ashaiman Municipality of Ghana

The purpose of the research was to assess the possibility of using the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) in Ghana as a model for the development of micro and small scale enterprises (MSEs). The study did this by assessing the contributions MASLOC has made to the development of MSEs. Data gathered from 96 beneficiary MSEs and three institutions revealed that loans from MASLOC have contributed to increasing the beneficiary MSEs’ working capital by 120.6%. The business advisory services offered by MASLOC to beneficiaries were identified to have improved the enterprises’ customer relations and attractions. All these have culminated into increases in earnings averaging 46.9%. The sustainability of MASLOC is however constrained by the high rate of default. The default rates for individual loans and group loans were 20% and 25% respectively. Overdue payments were estimated at 20% and 30% for individual loans and groups loans respectively. The study concludes that MASLOC should intensively monitor the MSEs in order to address the misapplications of the loans they take which will in turn reduce the rate of loan default. Keywords: Micro and Small Enterprises, Microfinance, MASLOC, employment, poverty reduction.

Promoting Green Infrastructure in Kumasi: Challenges and Strategies

The study investigated the causes and effects of the reduction of green spaces in the city of Kumasi,  as well as the challenges in the management of green spaces. Data for the study were gathered through interviews, documentary reviews and observation. The causes and challenges of maintaining green spaces included inadequate collaboration between institutions engaged in the planning and management of the city, inadequate capacity and lack of control by the city management over a greater part of the city’s lands.  The effects included the near loss of the garden city status of the city and reduction in the number of green spaces for recreation, parties and relaxation. To help promote and preserve green spaces in the city, it is recommended that the managers of the city develop various policies, programmes and projects to support green living and create a participation strategy for all major stakeholders in the creation and management of green spaces. City authorities should institute an annual Green Space Awareness education in the city, encourage private developers, owners of housing facilities and educational institutions to maintain private gardens and green spaces and help improve the collaboration between and among key stakeholders and institutions in the management of green spaces in the city. Keywords: Green Infrastructure, Green space, Cities, Kumasi, land use, climate chang

Decision-Making Difficulties of Senior High School Referred Graduates of Cape Coast Metropolis

This research examined the career decision difficulties of Senior High School Referred Graduates (SHSRGs) in the Cape Coast Metropolis. Mixed methods with exploratory design was employed and the data were collected using questionnaire and interview guide. Stratified and random sampling techniques were adopted to select a total of three hundred and sixty (360) SHSRGs. Purposive, convenience and snowball sampling techniques were also used to select six (6) parents, three (3) remedial school teachers and one (1) director of Ghana Education Service (GES) for the study. The result indicated (189, 53.8%) of the referred graduates usually felt they needed confirmation and support for their decisions about their career choice from a professional or somebody they trust. It was also revealed that (263, 74.3%) had considered the field they would like to major or the field they would like to choose. Again, (59, 16.7%) of the referred graduates encountered difficulties in making career decisions because they did not know which occupations interest them whereas (89, 25.0%) indicated they found it difficult to make career decision because they were focusing on their referred papers. It was recommended that the SHSRGs should make career choices based on guidance and counselling received from experts in various institutions in the metropolis. They should resist imposition of careers by people and accept non-collegiate education through excursions and embrace work surveillance. This will sharpen their understanding about what industry expect from them and connect them to the realities of the world of work. Keyword: Decision-making, Career selection, Decision dynamics, Career failure, Referred graduates, Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/10-22-13 Publication date: November 30th 202

The Informal Apprenticeship System in Ghana: Post Graduation Job Integration and Its Implications for the Management of Urban Space

In spite of the enormous contributions the informal apprenticeship system has made to empowering many creative intelligent young Ghanaians, it has over the years come under a barrage of criticism and forceful evictions in many urban areas in Ghana. The justification by  urban administrators and planners for forcefully removing these graduate apprentices who set up their businesses  have been on grounds of encroachment of public spaces and illegal occupation of precarious locations. Informal graduate apprentices have defended their locational choice on ground of unfairness on the part of the state and the market to cater for their space needs. In the awake of a growing informal apprenticeship system in Ghana, this paper sought to establish the inherent relationship that exist between the growth in apprentices, their locational preferences, and their implications for urban planning and management. Using a case study approach the study built upon earlier exploratory research works done in the area. Information was gathered from 162 graduate apprentices-now entrepreneurs in four broad trades namely wood worker; auto mechanics; textile and apparel; and beauticians and hairdressers in Accra using questionnaires. The responses were validated through a focus group discussion. The findings revealed the number of graduate apprentices who set up their businesses is on the rise.  Although they preferred highly accessible areas that guaranteed high patronage of their services the absence of such spaces due to inefficiencies in the urban land market or a lack of a clear regulation that addresses their specific needs have caused them to settle in areas that are available to them.  It was also evident that the more concentrated the location of their activities are the higher the number of trips it generates across the urban space. Having gained insight into the phenomenon, proposals have been made as to how best the unmet space needs of the graduate apprentices can be met so as to mitigate the negative effects that results from unplanned, uncoordinated and unmet space needs. Keywords Informal, graduate apprentices, space needs, urban managemen

The PREDICTS database: a global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts

Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species’ threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project – and avert – future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups – including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems – www.predicts.org.uk). We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full database will be publicly available in 2015

How Far Is Progress? Gender Dimensions of Student Enrollment in Higher Education in Ghana: The Case of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Despite the World Declaration on Higher Education for the 21st Century that education is the ultimate support of human rights, and that access and participation remain key catalysts to accelerating equal educational opportunities for all, females continue to trail their male counterparts in educational outcomes across sub-Saharan Africa. This study focuses on the Ghanaian context and assesses the gender dimensions of student enrollment in higher education, highlighting the disparities therein. We adopt a typical case study design, and a mixed method approach, involving quantitative analysis of student enrollment data, qualitative interviews, and focus group discussions with administrators and students at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. We find generally low female participation across all colleges of the university, except for the College of Health Sciences. We also find low female participation across three dimensions: qualified applicants, admissions, and enrollment. The causes of disparity in the dimensions of student enrollment are rooted in four main factors: institutional, socio-cultural, economic, and awareness of STEM policy and opportunities. The present findings have implications for the implementation of STEM and other gender policies at both the pre-tertiary and tertiary levels of education across sub-Saharan Africa

Triggers of electricity-use efficiency amongst low-income households in Kumasi, Ghana

The Fogg Behaviour Model suggests that for behaviour to occur, motivation, ability and a trigger must interact at the same time. Using this framing, this paper investigates and reflects on the triggers of energy use behaviour amongst low-income urban households in Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana within the broader framing of sustainable energy transition. The research adopted the transdisciplinary approach. Selected households voluntarily participated in the research project implemented over a period of 2 years. Households were grouped into full-treatment, partial-treatment, and control groups. A co-designed intervention was introduced to the full treatment group. This paper observes and reflects on the energy behaviour of the full treatment group before, during and after the intervention using the Fogg Behaviour Model. The paper concludes that ‘saving money’ is a key trigger toward electricity use efficiency amongst low-income urban households. Consequently, an energy transition programme amongst low-income households might be effective if designed around this theme