Ghana's Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Tertiary Education,
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah has stated that the advent of social media
is negatively affecting the writing and speaking of English language among
students in the country, especially those in the Senior High School (SHS) level. According to Mr.
Ablakwah, even though social media has been very helpful when it comes to
communication among friends
and families, students are transferring their ways of writing on social media
platforms into the examination rooms and the way they speak as well. The
North Tongu legislator said this when he officially launched a
National Essay Competition instituted by the UBA Foundation, the
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of the United Bank for Africa (UBA)
in Accra . He noted that English and Mathematics subjects are the major
challenges in examination among students, reiterating that it is now
easy and common to see most students using short-hands during examination. Applauding
UBA for initiating the competition geared towards providing Senior High
School students in Ghana a stage to demonstrate their writing and speaking
skills, Mr Ablakwah called on Ghanaians and corporate institutions to assist
the government in lifting the image
of the educational sector in the country. The minister noted that last year the
government spent GHc5.7 billion in the educational sector, which
represented 6.1% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Mr. Ablakwa
said last year, government increased the enrolment at the basic education
sector to about 813,000. He stated that there are 839 secondary schools with
about 400,000 students across the country and for that matter hoped the
competition will be free and fair, and give equal opportunity to every
applicant. The increased usage of social networking websites has become an
international phenomenon in the past several years. What started out as a
hobby for some computer literates has become a social norm and way of
life for people from all over the world. This, according to many
educationists, has however had its own effect on the English language usage
of users as many are deviating from correct spelling and
grammar usage. According to a 2013 survey conducted by social media monitoring
company, Brandwatch, social networks have transformed modern day English,
with Twitter
presenting the greatest threat. Per the survey, total of 0.56 per
cent of words posted on the micro-blogging site were either
misspelt or unofficial. The essay competition is a follow up on the
Real Africa initiative of the UBA Foundation, which involved giving out
literature books
to secondary school students to help rekindle the dwindling reading
culture among the youth in Africa. The foundation has stated that entries
for the competition have been open and the closing date for entries is 31st
October, 2014. The Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of
UBA Foundation, Madam Ijeoma Aso , announced that the winner of the competition
will take home GHc17,700.00. The first runners-up and the second runners-up
will take away GHc12,390.00 and GHc7,080.00 respectively. Also the first
10 students together with the winners will get laptops each. She stated
that students who are willing to take part in the competition must attach
photocopies of their birth certificates or photocopies of international
passport data page, to get into the competition. The applicants are supposed to
summit handwritten essay of not more
than 750 words, on the topic, ‘Is Social Media a safe place to make friends’? ,
should be submitted along with their complete contact information, (school name
& address, residential address, phone number and email address).The judges
made up of professors, are expected to name the winners in December, 2014. Out
of the number of entries received, 12 finalists will be announced in early
November, 2014 and out of the 12 the best three will be named. Prior to
announcing the best three, the 12 finalists will be camped in Accra to defend
their essay to a high panel.
Source:Myjoyonline.com
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