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 Rev. Samuel Yeboah Antwi (left), Principal of the Presbyterian College of Education, presenting a scroll to one of the graduating students at the ceremony.
EMMANUEL EBO HAWKSON

Upgrade your qualifications. Lecturers of Colleges of Education told

Lecturers of Colleges of Education (COEs) have been challenged to upgrade themselves to enable them to meet the National Accreditation Board’s (NAB) requirement for lecturers in tertiary institutions.

According to the President of the Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon, Reverend Professor J.O.Y Mante, COEs had now acquired tertiary status as a result of the COE Law (2012), hence there was the need for lecturers in such institutions to have a minimum of at least a Master’s degree in a relevant field.

“Take advantage of the government’s support and other support available to upgrade your certificates. A time will come that if you don’t have the required qualification, you can’t teach at such a level,’’ he said.

Congregation

Rev. Prof. Mante was speaking at the 9th congregation of the Presbyterian College of Education (PCE) at Akropong-Akuapem in the Eastern Region last Saturday.

The ceremony, which was on the theme: “Tertiarisation: The New Phase of Colleges of Education in Ghana,’’ saw 250 students being awarded with Diplomas in Basic Education (DBE). 

Transition

Rev. Prof. Mante, who is also a member of the NAB, said most COEs had not made a full transition to the tertiary level owing to the fact that they were yet to fully understand their new status and also due to the numerous challenges hampering the transition.

A major challenge, he said, was the system where the government allocated admission quotas to the COEs.

Some of the COEs, he explained, had the capacity to admit 500 students on a yearly basis; “but they are given a quota of 250 because that is what the government can afford at a particular time.

“Will it not be more realistic for the system to allow colleges to take in more students as private students and charge such students extra fees as is done by some of our public universities?’’ he queried.

According to him, the lack of statutory bodies such as academic boards, standing committees of governing councils and finance and development committees to formulate and execute policies was another big challenge hampering the transition.

Stalled projects

For his part, the Principal of the PCE, Reverend Samuel Yeboah Antwi, mentioned that projects such as accommodation for staff, a new administration block and the purchase of equipment for the science laboratory had stalled due to the lack of funds.

He, therefore, appealed to all stakeholders to support the college to complete such projects.

Despite the challenges, he intimated that the college, through its internally generated funds, was able to purchase a new bus to augment its fleet of vehicles.

“The college has also embarked on an outreach programme to provide in-service training and capacity workshops for teachers in the region,’’ he stated.

Rev. Antwi urged the graduates to see their graduation as a step meant to propel them to achieve more laurels and urged them to continue to develop their skills to make them more marketable on the job market.

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