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Prof. Kwesi Yankah
Prof. Kwesi Yankah

Colleges of education councils to be inaugurated soon

Nominations for membership of governing councils of all colleges of education have been completed and forwarded to the Office of the President and the Council of State for endorsement.

The Minister of State in Charge of Tertiary Education, Prof. Kwesi Yankah, disclosed this in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday.

“As we speak now, nominations have been done.

 All the positions have been filled and as far as the ministry is concerned everything has been forwarded to the appropriate quarters,” he said.

Challenges as colleges begin degree programmes

Prof. Yankah was reacting to concerns expressed in some quarters that even though colleges of education were to begin the four-year degree programmes in a month’s time, some basic requirements to ensure smooth take-off were yet to be put in place.

Among them are the governing councils of the schools, which some concerned stakeholders in the education sector believe could cause governance crisis in the colleges when the four-year degree programmes begin.

Preparation

Prof. Yankah was, however, optimistic that members of the governing councils of the various colleges of education would be announced soon.

He said the National Council for Tertiary Education (NTCE) was available to support the governing processes in the colleges as and when the need arose, “while we wait for the green light to have the councils inaugurated”.

According to him, the syllabuses of the colleges of education had been reviewed and tailored to ensure that “what is being taught fits into what is happening on the ground”.

Capacity building

Prof. Yankah said the capacities of tutors in the colleges of education were being upgraded in regard of the fact that conversion from diploma to degree-awarding institutions was a process and not an event.

“The change is a process and that is why the colleges are not being converted automatically but had to go through a process. To begin with, they will be affiliated to the University of Cape Coast, while the other universities get themselves prepared,” he said.

He was content that some teachers in the colleges of education were already doctor of philosophy (PhD) holders, while others were still in the process of acquiring those higher degrees.

The minister of state expressed optimism that in a year’s time majority of lecturers in the colleges would be PhD holders.

Professionalism

Prof. Yankah said there was no single developed country where teachers at the basic schools had certificates lower than a degree.

He said that was the way to go to ensure that right from pre-school through to basic, a solid foundation had been laid.

He said it was in that light that the government was pushing to ensure that teachers were now degree holders and licensed and diploma-awarding colleges were converted to degree-awarding institutions.

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