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26 Lecturers to benefit from ‘Skills4Success’ project
Twenty-six (26) Lecturers from seven Ghanaian Colleges of Education and Universities have been selected for the ‘Skills4Success’ project targeted at improving academic performance and greater employability of young people.
The ‘Skills4Success’ project developed and delivered by the British Council in partnership with the Government of Ghana, Wikimedia Foundation and Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, will be undertaken until March 2023.
The 26 lecturers have been selected from University of Cape Coast, University of Winneba, St. Louis, Jasikan, Holy Child, Bagabaga and Presbyterian Colleges of Education would benefit from the pilot programme to be extended to three other African countries namely Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.
A recent study conducted by International Finance Corporation (IFC) found that over 230 million jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa would require at least basic digital skills by 2030 and nearly 65 per cent of current job employers require at least some basic digital skills.
According to Mr. Chikodi Onyemerela, Acting Country Director, British Council Ghana & Cameroon, these figures by IFC stressed the need to enroll the ‘Skills4Success’ programme aimed at providing teacher trainers and student teachers with the knowledge and skills to develop improved digital literacy and factual writing skills in the young learners they teach.
“The linear relationship between effective teaching/teacher competency and pupils’ learning outcome is well documented in various extant literatures and what we are setting out today is an enduring journey to support the numerous efforts by State and Non-State actors to improve the output and competitiveness of the Ghanaian students, using Colleges and Universities of Education as entry point,” he said.
He revealed that a recent consultative meeting with top officials at the Ministry of Education underlined the importance and focus on Science, Technology Engineering, and Mathematics education, digital literacy and the need to enhance English language amongst teachers, school leaders and students across the country.
Mr. Abdulai Jinapor, Deputy Director, Ghana Tertiary Commission, in his remarks, commended all partners for the project which according to him, will help improve the skills sets of students and acquire knowledge.
He noted that the training programme would enable teacher students and trainers to better understand how to use the internet as a learning and research resource, and actively engage in the online space in professional contexts.
He added that it would improve the quality of their written communication both academically and professionally and develop their confidence in their use of digital tools. -GNA
President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned four career diplomats as ambassador-designates to represent Ghana in four countries.
The commissioning ceremony took place on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The new envoys are Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo, Ambassador-Designate to Angola; His Excellency Louis Kwame Obeng, Ambassador-Designate to Qatar; Her Excellency Evelyn Korantemaa Ofosu-Amable, Ambassador-Designate to Israel; and His Excellency Jedidiah Reuben Adogla, Permanent Representative-Designate to Switzerland.
President Mahama charged them to advance Ghana’s national interests through strategic partnerships, economic diplomacy, investment mobilization, and expanded access to international markets.
He said Ghana’s diplomatic engagements must deliver tangible economic benefits, create jobs, and strengthen the country’s standing on the international stage.
The four envoys are career diplomats with over 27 years of experience.
On behalf of her colleagues, Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them and pledged their commitment to emulate his leadership and deliver on the mandate given to them.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
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