NPRA Introduces Pension Quiz for Senior High Schools in Ghana
One fundamental of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) includes promoting public awareness and education on pensions, as well as ensuring compliance with the provisions of the National Pensions Act. With this in focus, the Authority is committed to building a robust pension industry in Ghana that will ensure adequate retirement income security for all workers in Ghana.
As part of its quest to educate Ghanaian youths on Pensions and their related benefits, the NPRA launched a new initiative to promote and create awareness of Pensions among Senior High school students in the Bono Region.
The Sunyani Zonal office noted that Senior high school students in Ghana are an integral part of the population for promoting and creating awareness on pensions.
With many students preparing to enter the workforce in the coming years, it is important that they understand the basics of personal finance management, including pensions. Unfortunately, financial education is not always a priority in Ghanaian schools, and many students graduate without a solid understanding of how to manage their income.
The NPRA is gradually taking steps to change that by launching an interactive pension quiz for senior high school students, the initiative will help students learn about the importance of pensions and how they work. Through this initiative, the NPRA hopes to engage students in a fun and educational way and encourage them to start thinking about their financial future.
The Maiden edition of the Pension quiz was steered by the Sunyani Zonal Office which captured ten (10) Senior High schools in the Bono Region, Specifically the Sunyani Municipalities, to avert nepotism, the quiz was first conducted in zones from which two (2) School from each zone were selected to the grand finale, due to how informative and well prepared the students were, five (5) Schools successfully phased into the finals.
At the launch of the programme, the Sunyani Zonal Head, Mr. Williams Ohene Adjei called upon the students to fully avail themselves and understand the pension regulations and its benefits which will help them secure their future when they enter the active workforce and embark on retirement.
He postulated that the pension quiz initiative will help young adult to understand the basics of Pension and its benefits which will also give them knowledge on their rights when they are employed in an active workforce, with this knowledge they will acquire the pension quiz, no employer can take them for granted when it comes to payment of their contribution.
Over one thousand second-cycle students comprising contestants and other representatives from each of the participating schools participated in the grand finale of the maiden quiz programme.
The Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Hayford Atta Krufi, emphasized that this mode of education will help students and teachers read comprehensively and understand the new three-tier Pension scheme being operated in Ghana and the benefits that come with it. He expressed worry that the youth did not either see or recognize the relevance of pensions, hence the need to make them understand so they would accept, join, and contribute to pensions in their working life.
“We vehemently believe the adoption of the pension awareness quiz will trigger the much-needed enthusiasm in pension-related issues and encourage participation in pension enrolment, he added, hoping the competition would stimulate the interest of the students in pensions.
He further elaborated that, Students will be also educated well on Pensions, in this order, the students can also extend this education and awareness to their friends and parents who were not present at the maiden event.
Mr. Gabriel Antwi, the Bono Regional Director of Education, described the competition as timely, saying it would greatly help the students and the public to understand pensions and called on the working class to invest in pension schemes to guarantee future financial security.
In attendance, as a special guest of honor to grace the occasion was the Paramount Chief of Suma Traditional Area, Odeneho Dr. Afram Brempon II. He commended the NPRA and called on the Authority to intensify public education on pensions for more people to join and contribute towards their retirement.
The schools that participated in the grand finale included St. James Seminary and Senior High School, Sunyani Senior High School, Odumaseman Senior High School, Notre Damme Girls Senior High School, and Sacred Heart Senior High School.
All Schools arrived prepared and well-equipped with the details of the National Pensions Act and current issues relating to Pensions. After a delightful and competitive battle on the National Pensions Act (2008), between the final five schools, St. James Seminary and Senior High School emerged winners with a whooping Fifty-Seven (57) points, the second-place school Odumaseman Senior High took the position with Forty-seven (47) points, Notre Damme Girls senior High school clinched the third position with forty-five (45) points, Sunyani Senior High School and Sacred Heart Senior High School came to a tie with Forty (40) points.
Giving out the conclusion speech, Mr. William Ohene Adjei, the Zonal Head of NPRA in the Bono Region encouraged and mandated the students to be Pension ambassadors in their respective schools, towns, homes, and villages, in this sense the awareness creation on Pensions and the goal of retirement income security could be achieved by all and sundry.