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Final year, Form 2 SHS students return to school
Final year Senior High School (SHS) students have started returning to school in various parts of the country to enable them commence with their academic work.
The students who are mostly in their final year will also be preparing for the final West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
A visit by the Ghanaian Times to some of the schools in Accra revealed that a sizeable number of students had returned to school.
In line with the measures as outlined by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo the schools have also taken delivery of quantities of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
At the Accra Wesley Girls Senior High School in Kaneshie, students were seen receiving their masks and sanitisers and this was after they had been screened with an infrared thermometer, commonly known as thermometer gun.
A source who spoke to the Ghanaian Times said most students had returned to school and had been divided into a group of 25 each for the classes to commence on Tuesday.
At Accra Academy, the situation was the same as majority of students had returned and waiting for classes to commence today.
A manual on safety protocols prepared by the school had been shared to students who had reported.
Similarly, students had reported to school at the Kaneshie Senior High Technical School (KATECO).
As at the time of our visit, most of the students who had been supplied with their hygiene frills had closed from classes.
The Assistant Headmaster of KATECO explained that, because the students had stayed home for a while without effective teaching and learning, they had been advised to put in more effort in their studies in the six weeks’ period.
He added that, students were educated on the safety protocols on COVID-19, something he mentioned would continue until the students’ complete school.
A number of parents who spoke to the paper expressed confidence in the arrangement made by the school authorities regarding protocols on the COVID-19, and underscored that the return of students to school was very important.
Madam Cecelia Annor, a parent of a Gold track student at Accra Academy said, she was “glad students were going back to school”.
She further stated that, not all the students studied while home, so the six weeks would be helpful in their preparation to the 2020 WASCCE.
Meanwhile, students who had returned to school went about their activities without showing any signs of fear or panic.
Some students we spoke to told us that, they were ready for the exams and very optimistic of excelling.
From Koforidua, AMA TEKYIWAA AMPADU AGYEMAN reports that, schools in the Eastern Region reopened amidst strict adherence to safety protocols to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease.
Schools visited include, Ghana Senior High School, Oti Boateng SHS, and Koforidua Senior High Technical School and Pope John Senior High School.
It was observed by the paper that, Veronica buckets had been placed at vantage points at the entrance of the schools.
Students and teachers were also seen washing their hands and wearing nose masks while they were screened and their contacts taken before they were allowed to enter.
Speaking to the Eastern Regional Director of Education, Mrs Margaret Nsiah Asamoah said her outfit has received some PPEs from the government.
She said the items included Veronica buckets, thermometer guns, tissues, soaps among others, adding that the items would be shared to all schools in Koforidua.
FROM THE UPPER WEST REGION, LYDIA DARLINGTON FORDJOUR, reports that, students had started trickling into the various schools on the first day of reopening.
Checks by the Ghanaian Times at some SHS in the region showed that most teaching and non-teaching staff were already at post, awaiting the arrival of the students.
At the WA Senior High/Technical School, almost every staff had reported and was receiving their nose masks as well as bottles of hand sanitiser each from the school’s administration.
The headmaster for the school, Mr Ismail Salih told the paper that the school had received hand washing items as well as gun thermometers and PPEs from the education directorate in the region on Saturday.
Touching on isolation centres, Mr Salih said the school was still preparing a sick bay but had designated a dormitory to serve the purpose for the time being and encouraged parents to let their wards report to school.
At the Wa Senior High School, four Veronica buckets had been mounted at vantage points of the school while students who had reported were undergoing screening with an infrared thermometer before they were allowed entry into the school’s premises.
Checks at the Tupaso Senior High School, a private institution at WA revealed that few students had reported, although classes had been scheduled to commence today.
Handwashing facilities had been mounted at the entrance and other vantage points on the school compound.
In an interview with the Ghanaian Times, the Regional Director of Education, Mr Godfrey Gongyeru stated that the schools were ready to commence academic work, latest by Wednesday, irrespective of the CODVID-19 pandemic.
He assured parents that the school authorities and staff would endeavour to safeguard the wellbeing of the students.
Source: Ghanaian Times
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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