Students from three senior high schools in Accra attended the 4th Youth School series, organized as part of the University of Ghana’s 76th Annual New Year School and Conference. The theme for the programme was “Attaining the 5-Ps of Sustainable Development for a Resilient Ghana: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership.”
The Youth School is a module of the annual conference focusing on youth development and is designed to prepare middle school students for the transition to tertiary education. The select group of students were from Accra Academy Senior High School, Presbyterian Boys High School, and Accra Senior High School.
The programme was facilitated by the Research and Innovation Directorate (RID) of the University. The topic for discussion was; Integrity and Stewardship: Critical Tools for attainment of the 5-Ps. Partners of the event include the International Leadership Foundation (ilf), and the National Youth Authority NYA).
Mr Ekow Smith, HR Manager at the NYA, encouraged students to take a keen interest in career development by engaging with the Authority for guidance.
A presentation by Dr (Mrs) Ernestina Atsu, of the International Leadership emphasized the importance of maintaining high moral and ethical standards in all life’s endeavours. She highlighted the widespread behaviour cheating which appeared to have permeated examinations at WASSE level. Dr Atsu admonished students not to assume that corruption was reserved for segments of society, stressing that corruption had many facets which are often trivialized. She re-echoed the poignant words of Ghana’s national anthem and challenged students to always leave a place better than they met it. Citing the example of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya and charged students to ensure that the journey of integrity to sustainable development is successful.
A representative from the Economic and Organized Crime Office, Ms Poku, cautioned students to be mindful of the dangers of engaging in cybercrimes. She underscored the potential for smart phones to be a force for good and bad activity. She encouraged them to follow the example of young people who were excelling and scaling boundaries in innovative fields.
A career advisor, Ms Edwina Paintsil, who spoke about personal development urged students to make the best use of their time. Highlighting the futility of spending time playing video games, she advised the student to learn new skills, continually improve on their spoken and written English and dedicate their time to identify a worthy career path.
Mrs Amma Appah, Research Development Officer at RID, who moderated the programme summed up the most salient elements of the presentations urging students to make good use of the notes they had taken.
The next segment of the programme involved the students’ joining groups for the practical sessions, consisting of AI and machine learning, Arts, Fashion/Design and Mathematics.
At the end of an enlightening practical session the 2025 Youth School programme ended with an admonition to students to use what they have learned as building blocks for the future.