News
‘Roll out affordable data packagesfor schools to enhance teaching
Mr Amago (left) with Mr Siedu (right) and the graduands Photo: Victor A. Buxton.
The Director of Celestial International STEM School in Ashaiman, Mr Harry Amago has urged government to impress upon telecommunication companies in the country to roll out a special internet package for educational institutions.
That he said would make date less expensive to those institutions and enhance the teaching and learning of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
‘If we are to embrace the change and prepare our students for an AI driven world, there must be a deliberate decision to create a special internet package for educational institutions to make data cheap for them to buy.”
Mr Amago said this at the 23rd Speech and Prize giving day and graduation ceremony of the school on Saturday.
It was on the theme ‘Use of IA in today’s educational ecosystem.’ In all, 42 students graduated from the school.
He explained that, the implementation of AI will be internet based than the normal text book-based approach to teaching and learning as teachers and students engage in Zoom, Skype, and Goggle Class Meetings among others.
Mr. Amago revealed that Celestial School was implementing an AI magic school tool which aims at reducing teacher fatigue, automatic administration tasks and increase efficiency.
He noted that despite the overreaching benefits of AI, the school was not overlooking the concerns of job displacement and ever-reliance on technology and was quick to note that with responsible implementation, most of the risks of AI can be mitigated to harness its potential.
The Headmaster of the school, Mr Osman Gibrin Seidu, said the use of AI was to enable the school to provide tailored education to individual needs, making teaching and learning more engaging and effective.
According to him, the 2023 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BCEC) candidates performed extremely well and all 17 candidates were successfully placed in their first or second choices of Senior High Schools (SHS) in the country.
Mr Clifford Henaku Budu, Director of Education, Ghana Education Service (GES), Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) said AI was not a buzz word but a reality that was making significant impact in our edu cational ecosystem.
Mr Budu said “most youth outside our world are playing pivotal roles through AI in the discovery, implementation and manufacturing of different items critical for today needs.”
He urged educational leaders especially teachers to use AI to bridge the inequality gap in the classrooms between children and not to widen it.
News
Abu Trica’s extradition case: Prophets, fetish priests demand pay for spiritual solution …Lawyer reveals
Mr Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a lawyer for embattled Frederick Kumi, affectionately called Abu Trica and has made a shocking revelation over the behaviour of some members of the clergy.
According to him in a post on social media, the difficult part of Abu Trica’s trial is not the law but the number of ‘Men of God’ and fetish priests demanding financial sacrifices to help resolve the matter spiritually.
Oliver Barker-Vormawor posted on Tuesday, April 22, 2026, “The most difficult part about the Abu Trica case; is not the law.”
He continued: “It is the number of, prophetesses, evangelists and fetish priests, who have called or messaged to ask us to pay for spiritual solutions.”
It would be recalled that in March this year, the Gbese District Court dismissed a preliminary objection filed by Abu Trica, challenging the extradition proceedings initiated at the request of the United States.
The court, presided over by Anna Akosua Appiah Gottfried Anaafi Gyasi, in its ruling held that the offences forming the basis of the extradition, particularly wire fraud, constitute extraditable offences under the 1931 treaty between Ghana and the United States.
He was then given 15 days counting from March 27 to appeal the decision of the court or be surrendered for extradition to the US.
Against this backdrop, he was on Tuesday, April 22, granted a bail in the sum of GH¢30,000,000 by an Accra High, pending the appeal of his extradition
Mr Kumi was arrested in Ghana in December 2025 following an indictment by United States authorities, alleging that he played a role in a romance scam network that defrauded elderly American victims of more than $8 million.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
News
From panic to pass: how parents, teachers can help children beat BECE, WASSCE exam phobia- Part 1
Walk through any Junior High or Senior High compound in Ghana as BECE or WASSCE approaches and you will see it.
A bright girl suddenly quiet. A boy who led class debates now sleeping at his desk. A Form three student with stomach pains every Monday morning.
This is not laziness. This is academic stress. When left unaddressed, it hardens into exam phobia-overwhelming dread that pushes children into burnout, avoidance, and sometimes silence.
As a mental health professional who sits with these children and their parents at Counselor Prince & Associates Consult (CPAC) in Adenta Oyarifa-Teiman, I see the pattern clearly.
Research confirms it. Putwain and Daly (2014) found that high test anxiety predicts lower grades independent of ability. Zeidner (1998) showed that chronic academic pressure raises cortisol, weakens memory recall, and increases school dropout risk. The brain under fear cannot retrieve what it studied.
Understanding the storm: What academic stress really looks like
Exam phobia is not just “being nervous.” It shows up as headaches before mocks, sudden anger when books are mentioned, night-time insomnia, or perfectionism that ends in blank scripts.
Some children over-study until 2 a.m. and forget everything by 9 a.m. Others avoid books completely, scrolling phones instead. Both are distress signals. Dr Kenneth Ginsburg, a paediatrician specialising in adolescent resilience, notes: “Stress is not the enemy; feeling alone with stress is.” Too many Ghanaian children feel alone with it.
The home front: How parents and couples become safe havens, not extra pressure
The first antidote is at home. Structure beats shouting. Set a predictable study slot-same time, same place, with water and a light snack. Then protect sleep like you protect school fees. A tired brain fails faster than an unprepared one. Use the “15-minute start rule”: “Just sit for 15 minutes. If you still can’t, we close and try after a walk.” Often, starting is the hardest part.
Couples must watch their language. “Don’t disgrace us” plants fear. Replace it with “We see your effort. What part feels hardest today?” Praise process, not only position: “You revised three topics and asked for help—that is maturity.” Research by Dweck (2006) confirms that process praise builds resilience while outcome praise increases anxiety.
For caregivers, check your own anxiety. Children borrow our nervous system. If BECE makes you panic, they will panic. One parent grounds—keeps meals, prayer, and bedtime steady. The other pivots—talks to teachers, adjusts timetables, arranges counselling. Both protect rest. An empty cup cannot pour calm.
Resources
– Counsellor Prince & Associates Consult (CPAC): Award-winning Clinical Mental Health and Counselling Facility, accredited by the Ghana Psychology Council.
– School-Based Support: Speak to Guidance & Counselling units, or licensed school counsellors. E.g. Counsellor Blessing Offei – 0559850604 (School Counsellor).
– Contact CPAC for Parent Coaching/Counselling & Student Therapy: 055 985 0604 / 055 142 8486
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