Councils of five colleges of education sworn in
The councils of five colleges of Education in the Volta Region were sworn in at a ceremony in Accra last Wednesday. Council members took the oath of office and the oath of secrecy.
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The colleges are the St Theresa’s College of Education and St Francis College of Education both in Hohoe, the Evangelical Presbyterian College of Education, Amedzope, the Peki College of Education, Peki and the Dambai College of Education, Dambai.
Addressing the members at the swearing-in ceremony, the Minister of Education, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, pointed out that “the governing council is an important decision-making body in ensuring quality, efficiency and effectiveness in all the institutions”.
Mandate
On the mandates of the councils, she said they were required to ensure that the colleges trained students to acquire the necessary professional and academic competencies for teaching in pre-tertiary and non-formal educational institutions, as well as build the professional and academic capacities of serving teachers through continuing education.
She reminded them that as councils, the success of their tasks would hinge on the adoption of the right approaches and practical interventions to achieve excellence in the colleges of education.
New colleges of education
Professor Opoku-Agyemang announced that the government had initiated steps to absorb five private colleges of education into the public system, in line with the pledge to construct 10 new colleges of education in areas that were under-served, to improve on teacher supply to basic schools.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang listed them as the St Ambrose College of Education, Dormaa Akwamu and the Ai-Faruq Islamic College of Education, Wenchi, both in the Brong Ahafo Region. The rest are the Gambaga College of Education, Gambaga and the St Vincent College of Education, Yendi both in the Northern Region, and the Bia Lamplighter College of Education in the Western Region.
She said the construction of a new college of education each in the Greater Accra and Central regions were expected to begin by the close of the year at a cost of GH¢38 million from the GETFund.
Transforming teacher education
She also announced that the government, with the support of the DFID was implementing the Transforming Teacher Education and Learning Programme (T-TEL) at the cost of £17 million, which was a new four-year Government of Ghana programme.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang explained that the T-TEL sought to transform the delivery of pre-service teacher education in the country by improving the quality of teaching and learning through support for all 38 colleges of education from 2014-2018.
On behalf of the other chairmen, the Council Chairman of the St Francis College of Education, Bishop Emeritus Francis Lodonu, thanked President John Dramani Mahama for giving them the chance to serve the country in their respective capacities and pledged their preparedness to work to justify the trust reposed in them.
He said they were aware of the economic challenges facing government and promised to continue to pray for the country to come out of the challenges, “so that government can help us to deliver on our mandate.”