EXAMINATION MALPRACTICES IN TERTIARY INSTITUTION

The objective of higher education is to equip student with the vital skills and knowledge to help them to partake effectively in Nation development. The training allows a regular assessment and evaluation in a form of examination, in order to ascertain the level of knowledge and competence of each student.

As student your primary aim is to learn each and every day to succeed in life. Your books must be your best friend at all times so that you may excel in your education. Every student dream is to complete school with good grades which can guarantee him or her job in the future.

 In recent times, the occurrences of examination malpractice have assumed an alarming trend in the country. This malpractice is one of the practices of lazy students who want to achieve success on a silver platter, candidates’ inadequate preparation, fear of failure and lack of confidence.

Students in the tertiary level also find themselves in these bad practices and this causes them a whole lot of humiliation and to their parent or families when they are caught. Nowadays, sophisticated electronic materials are been used, calculators, palm tops, mobile phones, though not allowed in examination halls are sneaked into the hall by the student.

Student who do not engage themselves in class and always finding excuses for being absent during  lectures are also forced to engage in  examination malpractices because it becomes difficult for them to know what has been taught in class and may not have an idea what is being expected  of them.

Another issue is that, most of those who indulge in examination malpractice happen to have rich and influential parents. Parents of these culprits use their influence in the society to get them out of trouble.

Also, some students who practice these bad habits of copying during examination are influenced by bad friends who encourage them to do so.

 Authorities should organize seminars at various levels to sensitize people on the evils of examination malpractice.  The media should also play it role on how ungodly the act is. I entreat every student to learn to excel in every area of their lives so that they become people of integrity

3 ARRESTED FOR SMUGGLING 3,000 GALLONS OF DIESEL

The Western Regional Police has arrested two Ghanaian men and a woman for smuggling more than 3,000 gallons of diesel to neighboring Ivory Coast at the border town of Elubo.

The suspects, Daniel Kabutey 58, Hamidu Nyaawen 38 a clearing agent, and Tracy Wilson 34, were smuggling the gallons of fuel in four huge barrels when they were intercepted by the Half Assini Police at 6:50 p.m. last Sunday.

They used a Ghanaian registered Man Diesel Tipper Truck with registration number GT 9062-11 in their attempt to smuggle the petroleum product which was concealed in the bucket of the tipper truck.

Though the suspects claimed to have legitimately acquired the diesel, it was unclear whether they intended selling the petroleum product in Ivory Coast.

According to the police, the actions by the three suspects were in direct contravention with Section 32 (1b) of the National Petroleum Authority Act 691 of 2005 which clearly states that a person shall not be in possession of petroleum products in quantities unreasonably in excess of that person’s immediate requirement.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Half Assini District Police Commander, Superintendent Mr John F. Dzineku said the police was tipped off by the Elubo border military that they suspected three people attempting to smuggle diesel out of the country.

He said Kubatey was the one driving the vehicle as at the time the police intercepted the vehicle to carry out their checks in the truck.

The suspects, he said, initially denied having any petroleum product on board the vehicle, but when the barrels of diesel were discovered hidden in the bucket of the truck, the three then accepted ownership of the consignment.

“As we speak now, we are preparing the suspects to arraign them before court today and start prosecuting them for breaking the country’s laws on petroleum,” he stated.

The police, he said, were poised to providing security at the border and that they would continue to work with the other security agencies to ensure that smuggling was brought to the barest minimum.

Source: graphic online

EVIDENCE SUGGESTS BABIES IN WOMB START LEARNING EARLIER THAN THOUGHT: STUDY

Researchers in the US have discovered that babies in the womb show evidence of learning by their 34th week, three weeks earlier than previously thought.

Lead researcher Charlene Krueger, also Associate professor at the University of Florida's College of Nursing, said the research is a positive breakthrough in discovering how early babies begin to learn, The study, published in the journal ''Infant Behavior and Development'', followed 32 women from their 28th through 38th weeks of pregnancy in an investigation to pinpoint when the ability to learn emerges.

Lead Researcher Charlene Krueger had the women repeat three times loud a set of 15-second nursery rhyme.

This activity was done twice a day for six weeks.

The selected rhyme was previously unknown to the mothers.

The foetuses heart rates were monitored at week 32, 33 and 34 as they listened to a recording of a female stranger recite the rhyme.

By the 34th week, Krueger said, the heart rates of the tested foetuses showed an overall slight decline while listening to the recording, compared with a control group of foetuses whose heart rates slightly accelerated while listening to a recording of a new nursery rhyme.

Krueger said a decelerating heartbeat has long been associated with a foetus recognizing something familiar, compared with an accelerated heartbeat response to a novel sound or experience.

At 38 weeks the researchers concluded the fetus could remember the rhythm of that nursery rhyme, which was four weeks after the mother stopped reciting the rhyme, the searchers say the findings have implications for the care of pre-term babies in neonatal units.


Source: yahoo

HEPATITIS B – AFLATOXIN SYNERGY AND LIVER CANCER

According to a recent worldwide cancer report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) specialised agency on cancer research (IARC) and Cancer Research UK, liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer, the third leading cause of cancer deaths and the cancer with the second highest number of healthy life years lost as a result of premature death or disability.

The first is the fact that developing countries, particularly sub-Saharan Africa and the Asia Pacific regions, bear the greatest burden of liver cancer, with estimated 84 per cent of all cases and mortality occurring there. The World Cancer Research Fund International ranks Ghana 11th in the top 20 countries with the highest incidence of liver cancer. The list includes 10 additional sub-Saharan African countries.

The most plausible explanation in the geographic distribution of liver cancer has often been Hepatitis B viral infection and dietary exposure to aflatoxins, which are two of the major causative agents of primary liver cancer.

Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is a viral infection of the liver with both chronic (long-term) and acute (short-term) forms. Highly endemic regions include sub-Saharan Africa with estimated prevalence of eight - 20 per cent, from the global cancer database (GLOBOCAN).

The WHO estimates that about 25 per cent of chronic hepatitis B patients die from Hepatitis B-related liver cancer. Chronic Hepatitis B is known to be the most common (60-80 per cent) cause of liver cancer, and there are reported 40-50 per cent chances of death in men compared to 15 per cent in their women counterparts.

Aflatoxins
Aflatoxins are a group of mycotoxins produced by Aspergillus sp (mould). They are present in both human food and animal feed, and are of great importance in food safety and public health, due to their potency as immunosuppressants (weaken immune system), mutagens (cause mutation in cells), carcinogens (cancer-causing agents) and teratogens (produce birth defects). Some food commodities that may contain aflatoxins include maize, groundnut, rice, wheat, sorghum, millet, cocoa beans, etc. Animal products such as milk, eggs and meat may also have aflatoxins because of the animal consumption of aflatoxin-contaminated feed. A report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) on mycotoxin food safety risk highlights the presence of aflatoxins in human breast milk and umbilical cord blood samples from Ghana and other tropical developing countries; this thus points to the chronic dietary aflatoxin exposure in Ghana.

Available information depicts that aflatoxin contamination often occur in the field prior to harvest. Post-harvest contamination may also occur if crop drying is delayed and if moisture is allowed to exceed critical limits for the growth of the mould during storage. Insect infestation and rodent invasion are also known to facilitate the growth of the mould in stored commodities.

According to some researchers, temperature and moisture are the two major factors that regulate the production of aflatoxins. This puts tropical countries at elevated risk to aflatoxin exposure because the climate, characterised by high temperatures and humidity, favour the proliferation of the mould.

According to the World Bank, European Union regulation of aflatoxins cost African countries US$ 670 million in annual export losses. By implication, the best quality foods would always get exported and the poor quality ones would be left for local consumers, especially the poor who could only afford limited food variations and may easily compromise on the safety of food.

Direct correlation between consumption of aflatoxin-contaminated food and the incidence of primary liver cancer has been found in many studies in several geographic regions, with the strongest association reported in sub-Saharan Africa. It is documented that between five-28 per cent of liver cancer cases globally are attributable to dietary aflatoxin exposure. The classification of aflatoxins, notably aflatoxin B1 (the commonest and the most potent of aflatoxins) by the IARC as group one human liver carcinogen, dates back in 1988.

The Synergy – Hepatitis B and Aflatoxins
Hepatitis B and aflatoxins are independent causative agents of primary liver cancer, and both have similar geographic distributions. The Co-existence of Hepatitis B and aflatoxin produces a synergistic effect that increases liver cancer risk by 12-fold than in someone infected with hepatitis B alone which already causes five-fold increase in the risk of liver cancer, according to WHO expert group on aflatoxins and health. It is suggested that the immunosuppressive effects of aflatoxins increases susceptibility to chronic Hepatitis B infection and viral replication.

The high endemicity of Hepatitis B with the concomitant heavy dietary exposure to aflatoxins in tropical developing countries may be the reason for the striking geographic discrepancy in the burden of liver cancer.

The way forward
According to the WHO, Hepatitis B vaccine has been available since 1982 and there is 95 per cent efficacy. Let’s remove stigma and demystify Hepatitis B because the Hepatitis B patient could live a full productive life with early diagnosis and close monitoring.

On aflatoxins, practical measures within reach at individual and household levels to reduce exposure involve dietary diversity. Dietary diversity is the number of individual food items or food groups consumed over a given period of time. It has been validated to reflect access to variety of foods and nutrient adequacy. This tool is recommended by the FAO, IFPRI and WFP for measuring food consumption and food security.

Promoting good agricultural practices like timed harvesting may also go a long way in reducing aflatoxin contamination of food commodities.
Strengthened systems for food inspection and monitoring at all levels for aflatoxins is also emphasised, and to this end, engagement of policy-makers may be crucial as far as food safety and the health of the public are concerned.

The writer is a Regulatory Officer with the Food and Drugs Authority

Source: Daily Graphic

FATHER IN COURT FOR DEFILING DAUGHTER

A 40-year-old Auto mechanic, Nii Tetteh who was accused of defiling his 16-year-old daughter at Mayera near Pokuase in Accra on Tuesday appeared before an Accra Circuit Court.

Charged with Incest, Tetteh has denied the offence and had been admitted to bail.

The court presided over by Ms Sedina Agbemava ordered Tetteh to deposit GHC 3,000 in court as a condition for bail.

He is to reappear on August 26.

Prosecuting Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Adiza Suleman told the court that the complainant, a 31- year-old trader is the mother of the victim. Both complainant and the victim reside at Mayera.

ASP Suleman said Tetteh was the ex-husband of the complainant.

According to prosecution after their divorce, the victim and her other siblings have been living with the accused person.

The prosecutor said on the night of June 29, this year, while the victim was sleeping on a mat with other siblings, Tetteh allegedly grabbed the victim and had sex with her.

The victim after the act started bleeding.

The matter was later reported to the Police at Amasaman.

A medical form was issued to the victim to undergo medical treatment, which later showed that she (the victim) had a perforated hymen.

Prosecution said Tetteh has since denied the offence

Source; GNA

SOMALI WOMAN KILLED FOR NOT WEARING VEIL

 

 

Militant Islamists in Somalia have shot dead a Muslim woman for refusing to wear a veil, her relatives say.

The nomadic woman was killed outside her hut near the southern Somali town of Hosingow by gunmen belonging to the al-Shabab group, they added.

The militants had ordered her to put on a veil, and then killed her after returning and finding she was still not wearing one, the relatives said.

An al-Shabab spokesman denied the group had killed the woman.

Al-Shabab does not fully control the area where she was living, he added.

The woman's relatives, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals, told the BBC she was killed at about 07:30 (04:30 GMT).

Al-Shabab, which controls much of southern and central Somalia, imposes strict rules of behaviour, including dress codes for men and women


Source; bbc africa

La General Hospital inundated by cholera cases; 5 dead so far

The La General Hospital in Accra has been forced to convert its Out Patient Department (OPD) into a cholera unit as high number cases of the illness overwhelms the hospital.
However, the move is not helping the situation.
Health officials at the hospital are turning away patients due to lack of space to attend to the more than 170 cases of the contagious cholera disease.
Five people have so far died from the disease at the hospital in one week.
Joy News’ Michaela Anderson, who visited the hospital Tuesday, said patients who do not want to go home have been waiting outside the OPD in the hope of being recalled.
Administrator at the hospital, Philip Afeti Korto, told Joy News the facility is doing its best to contain the situation.
“We have received about 171 cases as at today [Tuesday] from the time it started…about a week or two ago. The cases are coming I think from Teshie, Nungua and La communities”, said Mr Korto.
He said some of the cholera cases come as first point of call cases, while others are referrals from other hospitals.
Michaela reports that a number of patients were lying on the benches, others on their beds with drips on them as dozens of doctors flood the OPD to attend to them.
Mr Korto says his hospital is on top of the issue.
“We are managing with the resources that we have. And I don’t think that the situation is [beyond control]”, he assured.
He however advised the public to observe personal hygiene practices by washing their hands frequently, and abstain from eating cold foods.
Cholera is an acute diarrhoea illness caused by bacteria called 'Vibrio cholera'.
The illness can result in a profound and rapidly progressive dehydration and death. An untreated person may produce 10-20 litres of faecal matter a day with fatal results.

Source: myjoyonline