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Education colleges increase enrolment by 40%

Colleges of Education in the country have recorded a 40 per cent increase in their admissions despite the withdrawal of teacher trainee allowances.


The Minister of Education, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, who made this known, said the increase in the intake had disproved the assertion that withdrawal of the allowance was going to serve as a disincentive for people to apply to the colleges of education.

She made these remarks during a tour of an auditorium and a secretariat being constructed for the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) in Accra.
The tour formed part of the minister and her deputies’ tour of agencies under the Ministry of Education.

Reasons for scrapping allowances

Justifying the scrapping of the allowances for teacher trainees, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang stated that there was no tertiary student in the country that was given  an allowance, therefore, scrapping teacher trainee allowance was a step in the right direction.

She argued that the withdrawal of the allowance would even encourage those who had teaching at heart to go into the profession.

“We need people to choose to become teachers and not because of the allowances,” she added.

Students’ Loan to replace allowances

The sector minister said the ministry had put in place plans to liaise with the Students’ Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) so that teacher trainees could assess the loans.

She also noted that the issue of guarantors, that had become a problem for many, would also be looked at critically.

Work output of trained teachers

Comparing the work output of trained teachers at the basic level and those in the private schools, the sector minister noted that even though most of the teachers in the private schools were not trained, they performed tremendously well.

According to her, if teachers in the public schools were properly supervised, they could put up better performances, adding, “The rural schools that are not doing well can perform better if proper supervision of teachers were ensured.”

She further advised teachers to cultivate the attitude of discipline and dedication towards their work.

The engineer on site of the GAAS auditorium, Prof. Ralph Mills-Tettey, said the multipurpose complex was 80 per cent complete, explaining that it would serve as conference rooms for symposiums and other important functions.

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