NCCE organises competition for schools in Brong Ahafo

Notre Dame Senior High School at Fiapre in the Sunyani Municipality at the weekend won the four-day non-residential Project Citizen Brong Ahafo regional showcase held in Sunyani.

The competition was under the theme “Consolidating Democracy through Youth Participation”.

Notre Dame, by their feat, would represent Brong Ahafo at the national showcase of Project Citizen Ghana in Accra.

The school competed with five other senior high schools, while in the Junior High Schools segment of the competition, Ridge Experimental emerged winners out of seven other schools and would also represent the region at their level in the national competition.

The programme was organised by National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in collaboration with Civitas Ghana and sponsored by Hans Seidel Stiftung, a German NGO.

Mr Issah A. Nasagri, Regional Director of the NCCE, explained that the programme was aimed at helping to develop students' commitment to active citizenship and governance.

The goal of Project Citizen is designed to help the students gain knowledge and skills required for effective citizenship, the practical experience to foster a sense of competence and efficacy and an understanding of the importance of citizenship participation, he added.

The Regional Director said the programme would encourage the students' participation in real world problem solving and allow them to contribute critical thinking, co-operative learning, conducting research, reading, writing and presentation.

The students of the two levels made their presentations on 'understanding the problem', 'analysis of alternative policies', 'public policy development' and 'implementation of action plan'.

They thrilled their audiences, including the three-member panel of judges, led by Mr Charles Koomson, Regional Manager of the Ghana News Agency, who is also the Brong Ahafo Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association, with their knowledge and understanding of citizenship and governance.

“The ultimate goal of citizenship education as to enable students to become competent and responsible participants in our constitutional democracy”, Mr Nasagri said.

Mr Kwabena Fosu-Gyiabour, Sunyani Municipal Director of Education, noted that a well-informed youth “can boldly participate in the governance of their communities and can challenge all forms of oppression”.

He commended the NCCE for the programme, which he said, was very timely since it was the youth who were mostly used to engage in acts of violence, particularly during electioneering campaigns.

“We must rather use the youth to consolidate the democratic dispensation. If the citizenry were well educated about the voting process for example, the number of rejected votes in the 2008 elections would have been minimal”, Mr Fosu-Gyiabour added.

Sacred Heart, Sunyani, Chiraa, Odumaseman and SDA Senior High Schools followed Notre Dame in that order.

In the Junior High School division Abesim Presby 'A', SUSEC Model, Nyamaa, St Mary's, High Street 'B' and High Street 'A' placed in that order.