UTAG, POTAG reject Nat’l Research Fund

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OLD SOLDIER 9 years ago

BBC NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHERE DID GHANAIANS GO WRONG TO SUFFER LIKE THIS? YOU MAHAMA BUILDING YOUR HOTELS ABROAD, AFRIYIE ANKRA BUYING MANSIONS AT EAST LEGON, OKUDJETO ACQUIRING FILLING STATIONS ALL OVER, TOGBUI AF ...
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BBC NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHERE DID GHANAIANS GO WRONG TO SUFFER LIKE THIS? YOU MAHAMA BUILDING YOUR HOTELS ABROAD, AFRIYIE ANKRA BUYING MANSIONS AT EAST LEGON, OKUDJETO ACQUIRING FILLING STATIONS ALL OVER, TOGBUI AFEDE FILLING HIS BANK ACCOUNTS ABROAD< ASIEDU NKETIA SPREADING FILLING STATIONS ALL OVER BRONG AHAFO AND BUYING MANSION IN CALGARY CANADA, HANNA BISSIW ,OYI LITHUR ANITA DISOSO SPREADING MONEY AS IF GHANA HAS NO PROBLEM
vigour 9 years ago

I think the govt is right on the issue of book and research allowances. It is sad that for long long time University lecturers having been taking these allowances for free without any corresponding research or books being bo ...
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I think the govt is right on the issue of book and research allowances. It is sad that for long long time University lecturers having been taking these allowances for free without any corresponding research or books being bought. I was thinking in this competitive world the Universities would have made it compulsory that every lecturer should publish ones in a year. This should be part of their conditions of service. The fund created should assist those taking up proper research without a limit. The govt should also re-consider the student's project allowance.
Palmwine Tapper 9 years ago

How do you conclude that lecturers do not buy books? You have no idea the criteria for promotion of a lecturer! Please do get well-informed on some issues before commenting else you attract bashing.

How do you conclude that lecturers do not buy books? You have no idea the criteria for promotion of a lecturer! Please do get well-informed on some issues before commenting else you attract bashing.
CALABASH 9 years ago

Excellent response.
A National Research Fund can go to complement whatever book and research allowance UTAG and POTAG currently access, but the NRF cannot supplant the BARA.
They are totally different animals, completely d ...
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Excellent response.
A National Research Fund can go to complement whatever book and research allowance UTAG and POTAG currently access, but the NRF cannot supplant the BARA.
They are totally different animals, completely different animals.
Agbodzo P. 9 years ago

Please, do not throw dust into eyes of Ghanaians because a criteria for promoting a lecturer in an institution can never be 'buying of books that somebody has already written, edited and published'. Promotion of lecturers is ...
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Please, do not throw dust into eyes of Ghanaians because a criteria for promoting a lecturer in an institution can never be 'buying of books that somebody has already written, edited and published'. Promotion of lecturers is partly based on publications. What is the sense in promoting a lecturer for buying a book? Please, there are thousands of Ghanaian PhD degree holders in diaspora, and they are reading these infos. Above all, remember that parliament would have taken decisions based on the fact that everybody assesses information online these days. So no need to give a lecturer a separate fund to go and buy a book for promotion. However, funds to institutions to stock libraries will solve the problems.
Emma 9 years ago

what about the property owning philosophy of NPP? Have you seen government lands in cantonment, ridge and airport residential areas? what are which is more monstrous? Does it mean only NPP has a right to own property?

what about the property owning philosophy of NPP? Have you seen government lands in cantonment, ridge and airport residential areas? what are which is more monstrous? Does it mean only NPP has a right to own property?
BribeheneWeeAddo 9 years ago

Just for curiosity seek on this research issue, one just go to google scholar these people names and see how many research papers they have to warrant their demand

Just for curiosity seek on this research issue, one just go to google scholar these people names and see how many research papers they have to warrant their demand
PRINCEWILLY@YMAIL.COM 9 years ago

One sunny day a rabbit came out of her hole in the ground to enjoy the fine weather. The day was so nice that she became careless and a fox snuck up behind her and caught her.

"I am going to eat you for lunch!", said the f ...
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One sunny day a rabbit came out of her hole in the ground to enjoy the fine weather. The day was so nice that she became careless and a fox snuck up behind her and caught her.

"I am going to eat you for lunch!", said the fox.

"Wait!", replied the rabbit, "You should at least wait a few days."

"Oh yeah? Why should I wait?"

"Well, I am just finishing my thesis on The Superiority of Rabbits over Foxes and Wolves."

"Are you crazy? I should eat you right now! Everybody knows that a fox will always win over a rabbit."

"Not really, not according to my research. If you like, you can come into my hole and read it for yourself. If you are not convinced, you can go ahead and have me for lunch."

"You really are crazy!" But since the fox was curious and had nothing to lose, it went with the rabbit. The fox never came out.

A few days later the rabbit was again taking a break from writing and sure enough, a wolf came out of the bushes and was ready to set upon her.

"Wait!" yelled the rabbit, "you can't eat me right now."

"And why might that be, my furry appetizer?"

"I am almost finished writing my thesis on The Superiority of Rabbits over Foxes and Wolves."

The wolf laughed so hard that it almost lost its grip on the rabbit.

"Maybe I shouldn't eat you. You really are sick...in the head. You might have something contagious."

"Come and read it for yourself. You can eat me afterward if you disagree with my conclusions."

So the wolf went down into the rabbit's hole...and never came out.

The rabbit finished her thesis and was out celebrating in the local lettuce patch. Another rabbit came along and asked, "What's up? You seem very happy."

"Yup, I just finished my thesis."

"Congratulations. What's it about?"

"The Superiority of Rabbits over Foxes and Wolves."

"Are you sure? That doesn't sound right."

"Oh yes. Come and read it for yourself."

So together they went down into the rabbit's hole. As they entered, the friend saw the typical graduate student abode, albeit a rather messy one after writing a thesis.

The computer with the controversial work was in one corner. To the right there was a pile of fox bones, to the left a pile of wolf bones. And in the middle was a large, well-fed lion.

The moral of the story:

The title of your thesis doesn't matter.
The subject doesn't matter.
The research doesn't matter.
All that matters is who your advisor is
C.Y. ANDY-K 9 years ago

I have tarried in completing and submitting Part 3 of my series, Intellectual Bankruptcy in Ghana because I know this issue will be cropping up and I should do so to coincide with the time it rears its ugly head. It is just w ...
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I have tarried in completing and submitting Part 3 of my series, Intellectual Bankruptcy in Ghana because I know this issue will be cropping up and I should do so to coincide with the time it rears its ugly head. It is just waking up, so more time yet. However,....

Even though I take exception to what govt is planning, since it should be regarded as only one source of official funding for research in Ghana, the academically and intellectually bankrupt research and book allowances to each individual lecturer MUST BE ABOLISHED and the funds channeled into its replacements: funds to stock departmental libraries and the main libraries like Balme Library and funds for research grants at the departmental level which individual lecturers must compete to win, or for joint researches.

National Research Fund allocation must be geared towards specific areas/issues each year govt in consultation with stake holders consider necessary to tackle.

Andy-K
Nordman 9 years ago

When was the last time you visited Balme Library and any departmental library on UG campus to ascertain its stock? And you have reduced academic research to library stocking? Please come again Andy-K.

When was the last time you visited Balme Library and any departmental library on UG campus to ascertain its stock? And you have reduced academic research to library stocking? Please come again Andy-K.

C.Y. ANDY-K 9 years ago

Takk for hilsen. Hmm! You didn't leave a clue to guess hvem du er.

I intend to explain my psition in my conclusive article so will be sparse here.

The last time I checked the Balme Library was 1993. I was horrified to f ...
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Takk for hilsen. Hmm! You didn't leave a clue to guess hvem du er.

I intend to explain my psition in my conclusive article so will be sparse here.

The last time I checked the Balme Library was 1993. I was horrified to find out that it was bare as when I left Legon in 1980. Perhaps barer. I didn't check any Dept Library but visited the book shops at Legon and Cape Vars. Visited other book shops in Accra too.

It is in response to the situation that the infernal book allowance, with research allowance added, was hatched and implemented.

The solution to such a lack of books for teaching and research CAN NEVER be individualising the acquisition of books by individual lecturer each year, as if the "pensum" books are changed every year! There are som book which are so expensive that only a couple of copies may exist in the library system in even a country such as Norway. Some materials, e.g., PhD dissertations, may not exist at all, and have to be acquired from abroad when required by a researcher. Once used, they are returned to the library for others to use too. That's what happened to the PhD dissertation on the Rural Banks acquired from Australia for my use by the Chr. Michelsen Inst. library. Some books had to be ordered from the Univ. Tromso by the Univ. of Bergen librarian for my use. And that's what applies to all researchers at CMI and lecturers in the UIB.

I wrote in my first article on the subject about the practice in CMI whereby catalogues of impending publications from publishers were circulated around for the researchers and we research assts. to mark which of them we wanted. These are acquired by the library and one has first right to use ones ticked. If you want one for yourself, you say so and pay for it from your own pocket but the boon is that the libraries get the books at knocked down prrices, so you end up paying cheaply for books which are expensive in the univ. bookshops. Extremely rich Norway doesn't share money to individual lecturers and researchers each year to buy books, not to mention dole out money to do research on non-existent topics! Outrageous!

Andy-K
kb original 9 years ago

Andy-K, I am sorry but you got it all wrong. The Research and Book Allowance is a component of lecturers remuneration. It cannot never be stopped or replaced. At best, the two can exist together. So that ythehe hard working f ...
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Andy-K, I am sorry but you got it all wrong. The Research and Book Allowance is a component of lecturers remuneration. It cannot never be stopped or replaced. At best, the two can exist together. So that ythehe hard working faculty could access the research funds as proposals are submitted and approved. The Book and Research Allowance could be integrated into the salaries of lecturers which I am sure the government would not like to do because when it is paid later in the year, it serves as free loan for the state during the period. I can assure you that the government will fail. They seriously need to abreast themselves with the law that established it.
C.Y. ANDY-K 9 years ago

Nonsense! I recollect very clearly the debate surrounding the introduction of the infernal allowances. That they have now been construed to be part of lecturers' remuneration is simply a calculated distortion of what transpir ...
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Nonsense! I recollect very clearly the debate surrounding the introduction of the infernal allowances. That they have now been construed to be part of lecturers' remuneration is simply a calculated distortion of what transpired.

In any case, why should they be still there after implementing the botched Single Spine idea, intended to remove all those outrageous allowances but which simply became a ploy for the elite and the govt officials to pad up their take home in cash while still retaining those allowances, as the case of the medical doctors have shown? It is stealing from the public in the name of the law! They must be abolished, alongside the other outrageous allowances the MPs and other enjoy.

Andy-K
kb original 9 years ago

I am sorry if I said anything that was insulting. And I am not sure what I said qualifies for the description you gave it. I can see that you consider the paying and acceptance of allowance as immoral. Personally I don't supp ...
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I am sorry if I said anything that was insulting. And I am not sure what I said qualifies for the description you gave it. I can see that you consider the paying and acceptance of allowance as immoral. Personally I don't suppprt paying of some allowances such as sitting allowance for meetings. But some allowances are so called for government to avoid paying colossal amounts towards pension of employees. Once again I would suggest that the allowance is integrated into the salary. If central government finds this to be too much for it, universities should be made semi-autonomous so they could generate enough revenue to support teaching and research as it exists in universities of international repute.
kb original 9 years ago

I am sorry if I said anything that was insulting. I don't think my response to your comment qualifies for the description you gave it. I can see you consider the paying and receiving of allowances as immoral. We may have to d ...
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I am sorry if I said anything that was insulting. I don't think my response to your comment qualifies for the description you gave it. I can see you consider the paying and receiving of allowances as immoral. We may have to debate this and find out why various governments have settled for this. In some respects it is a way for them to avoid paying colossal pension to employees when they retire. In regard of the contentious allowance, I suggest that the central government integrates it into the salaries of lecturers. And if it finds this to be too much for it, then it should reduce its control on universities so that they could generate enough revenue to suppprt teaching and research as it pertains in universities of international repute.
T'pau 9 years ago

Academic research is important for development but require adequate funding. Do funds have to be allocated to all academics or to only those who have previously exhibited some research competencies? Neither of the above!

E ...
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Academic research is important for development but require adequate funding. Do funds have to be allocated to all academics or to only those who have previously exhibited some research competencies? Neither of the above!

Every year or thereabouts, there should be a requirement for prospective researchers to submit their proposals for grants, clearly detailing what they intend doing and the expected outcome of their research.

While most countries follow this process, the tricky thing about research is that, the expected result may not be achieved in the anticipated timeframe, if even at all.

How can we tell whether all prospective researchers actually use their monies for research?

While accountability holds good in developed countries in this regard, I'm not so sure about the situation in our beloved Ghana.

On the basis of accountability, the government may be tempted to consider only those who have accomplished in the past; leaving out those who have done nothing but actually have the potential. A 'chicken and egg' problem!
Elolo 9 years ago

Very true analysis. But until we have a policy where researchers are given a start-up capital, you can't really judge them on previous research publications. Many of the lecturers in Ghana might have published good papers whe ...
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Very true analysis. But until we have a policy where researchers are given a start-up capital, you can't really judge them on previous research publications. Many of the lecturers in Ghana might have published good papers when they were outside, but why can't they do same now? Because, the system is such that, you are employed to teach and research but what you need for research is never provided. So if funding will be based on past researches, then the young talented researchers will never get funded. Such young talents depend on their book and research allowances for minor minor researches to survive. Invest in them first, maybe for 5yrs and if they can't produce anything, kick them out. But how do you give them only board marker and duster and expect quality research from them!!
agya 9 years ago

set up the fund.. let the lecturers compete for grant with their research ideas

set up the fund.. let the lecturers compete for grant with their research ideas
CK 9 years ago

"Compete" in Ghana? Na na na...its whom you know and which party you belong.

"Compete" in Ghana? Na na na...its whom you know and which party you belong.
Elolo 9 years ago

In Ghana, there is not start-up capital for lecturers to start a research, so they have to depend on their B&R allowance. In other countries, however, every lecturer gets a start up capital for the first few years so they can ...
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In Ghana, there is not start-up capital for lecturers to start a research, so they have to depend on their B&R allowance. In other countries, however, every lecturer gets a start up capital for the first few years so they can get established in their research. Most research publications in most science journals cost over $1500 upon acceptance, since most of these journals are open-access.I had 3 publications in 2015 and each cost 2000 USD for publication (total $6000). Can our lecturers in Ghana pay for those? Without research funding, publication allowance etc, lecturers can only depend upon their book and research allowance for some of these.

Elolo 9 years ago

In Ghana, there is no start-up capital for lecturers to start a research, so they have to depend on their B&R allowance. In other countries, however, every lecturer gets a start up capital for the first few years so they can ...
read full comment

In Ghana, there is no start-up capital for lecturers to start a research, so they have to depend on their B&R allowance. In other countries, however, every lecturer gets a start up capital for the first few years so they can get established in their research. Most research publications in most science journals cost over $1500 upon acceptance, since most of these journals are open-access.I had 3 publications in 2015 and each cost 2000 USD for publication (total $6000). Can our lecturers in Ghana pay for those? Without research funding, publication allowance etc, lecturers can only depend upon their book and research allowance for some of these. Yes, a research fund is a good idea but the criteria for selection will run many researchers down. It could be supplementary to the book and research allowance.
Agbodzo P. 9 years ago

Please, it was your choice to publish in an open assess. You could have chosen to publish otherwise. You are not the only one who published only three papers in 2015; people did publish more than 8 in 2015 and they are Ghanai ...
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Please, it was your choice to publish in an open assess. You could have chosen to publish otherwise. You are not the only one who published only three papers in 2015; people did publish more than 8 in 2015 and they are Ghanaians. So, don't let your own choice be noisy type.
Elolo 9 years ago

Agbodzo P, you missed my point. The issue here is not even about the number of publications in a year or the choice of journal, but an example of how research funding is important if we have to grow as a nation. Also try to r ...
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Agbodzo P, you missed my point. The issue here is not even about the number of publications in a year or the choice of journal, but an example of how research funding is important if we have to grow as a nation. Also try to read between my lines, I specifically said "most science journals" because I know many of the Social sciences do not require payment. Many of the your so-called 8 papers cannot even be located on google because they are found in "predatory journals" where nobody even reads them.You expect people to publish quality papers without the provision of quality research materials. Many lecturers(esp. those in the sciences) have to use their salary for reagents and research materials because there is no start-up capital for them to first get established. These same people are able to do quality work in other countries, why not Ghana? Many social scientists may prefer to use questionnaire because that is cheaper, but how many scientist do we expect to use such methods in this 21st century? Our universities do not provide conducive environments for research but so much is required of our lecturers and researchers. The book and research allowance is definately not helping matters but taking it off just worsen matters, esp. for the young and up-coming talents.
Mr Bond 9 years ago

The idea of parliament has pass a bill to implement National Research Fund is in a positive direction and Ghanaians should rejoice but details of the research fund was not given and did it means of National Research Funds and ...
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The idea of parliament has pass a bill to implement National Research Fund is in a positive direction and Ghanaians should rejoice but details of the research fund was not given and did it means of National Research Funds and who are the beneficially of the funds.Is it for schools or it also comprise private research institutions and individuals?How is the fund going to be disburse and who are those qualify to receive the funds?

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UTAG, POTAG reject Nat’l Research Fund

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