Sunday, September 14, 2008

STRENTHEN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT — TORGBUI AYIM (PAGE 22)

THE paramount chief of the Ziavi Traditional Area, Togbui Kwaku Ayim IV, has called on business educators to fashion out new strategies to strengthen business management and administration in order to contain the challenges of emerging businesses in the wake of petroleum discovery in the country.
According to him, it was expected that more businesses would spring up due to the oil boom and they should be properly managed hence the need to train and equip students at various levels to handle the businesses efficiently.
Togbui Ayim was addressing the 16th annual conference and workshop of the Ghana Association of Business Education Teachers (GABET) at Ho, on Wednesday.
He attributed the collapse of many businesses to poor management skills and, therefore, charged business educators to reverse the trend in order to lay a solid foundation for future generations.
Togbui Ayim lamented over public outcry on the poor result of Basic Education Certificate Education (BECE) and blamed the recurrence of poor performance on the overburdening of pupils with many subjects.
He, therefore, suggested to the authorities to review the number of external examination subjects in order to reduce the number of subjects as a measure of minimising the burden of students.
Presenting a paper on the theme: “The contribution of the business community to the development of business education in Ghana” a senior lecturer at the University of Education, Winneba, Kumasi Campus, Reverend Dr Canon Joseph Osei, said business educators should take up public education on financial literacy after national budget reading or the passing of a new tax law.
He said they should organise seminars in vernacular throughout the country for market women and artisans, adding that they should design simple business methods and financial system flow charts for traders.
Rev Osei said it was only when the business community tasted the professional competence of business educators that they would be motivated to support them in their work.
He said business educators could influence the creation of academic and philanthropic chairs to be occupied by persons who wanted to demonstrate their support for the development of business education in the country.
The GABET National President, Mr J.K. Addo, said the attractiveness of business education programmes in almost all the institutions of higher learning had motivated the choice of the theme for the conference.
He said the forthcoming general election was critical in the life of the nation, and for that reason there was the need for all and sundry, especially the security agencies, to live up to their responsibilities by being strict and stern, fair and firm.
Mr Addo stated that for a democracy to function effectively, the political parties should compete on an equal and equitable basis by providing a level playing field for all political parties.
“Decorum or civility should be the hallmark of our politics. Politics is not supposed to be a dirty game but if those who play politics are dirty, no doubt they will make it dirty,” he said.

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